A few hours after President Donald Trump’s trade negotiating team boarded a flight for the most important economic meetings in the world, their boss took to social media to publicly throw a curveball into the negotiations.
That was the point – not necessarily the path.
Trump’s decision to float the possibility of cutting his 145% tariffs on China to 80% gave the impression that Trump was negotiating with himself before the discussions started. But the substance of the message, was not a surprise to his top negotiators, who have discussed the possibility of lowering America’s tariff on China in internal discussions ahead of the US-China talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
Trump’s feigned deference to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who he said in the post would make any final decision, was intended to elevate “Scott B” in the eyes of his Chinese counterparts. In reality, US officials are clear-eyed about the fact it will be Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping who will ultimately need to cement any major agreement.
Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer landed in Geneva, Switzerland, for two days of meetings with top Chinese officials eyeing what may be viewed as less ambitious, but no less important, outcomes.
White House officials have made clear they view the China talks on a separate track than the furious scramble to secure trade agreements with dozens of other nations. Those negotiations are officially on the clock after Trump’s decision to pause the April 2nd “reciprocal” tariff rates for 90 days.