The move comes a day before U.S.-China trade negotiations are set to begin.
President Donald Trump on Friday voiced a willingness to ease tariffs on China, saying on social media it „seems right“ to slash levies from 145% to 80%.
The announcement arrives a day before Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to begin trade negotiations with Chinese officials at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
The potential tariff reduction floated by Trump may avert a virtual standstill of trade between the world’s two largest economies, but the move would not substantially ease expected price increases for goods such as clothes, sneakers and toys, analysts .
Product shortages would also remain a possibility at the lower tariff rate, they added.
„A tariff of 80% would still have a dramatic effect“, Christian vom Lehn, an economics professor at Brigham Young University, . „It would mean a significant impact for consumers.“
Trump last month sharply increased tariffs on China, prompting China to retaliate with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. The tit-for-tat measures set off a trade war with the third-largest U.S. trade partner, which accounted for nearly $440 billion worth of imports last year.
The tariffs elicited warnings from a slew of companies about the risk of price increases for U.S shoppers.
Toy giant Mattel warned in an earnings report this week of plans to shift some of its supply chain outside China, adding that when necessary it would take „pricing action in its U.S. business.“ The move follows similar messages from electronics chain Best Buy as well as Chinese e-commerce retailers Shein and Temu.
Chinese shipments to the U.
