U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY SAYS HE DID NOT TALK TARIFFS WITH CHINESE COUNTERPART – Scott Bessent did not give a timetable for any potential agreement with China
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had interactions with his Chinese counterparts last week during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, but did not discuss the standoff over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
There have been conflicting signals over the U.S.-China trade war, with Trump saying talks are taking place and China denying any have occurred.
“I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” Bessent said, adding “I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi (Jinping).”
Bessent, who said last week that tariff negotiations with Beijing would be a “slog,” did not give a timetable for any potential agreement with China.
He said a trade deal can take months, but a de-escalation and an agreement in principle can be achieved sooner and would keep tariffs from ratcheting back to the maximum level.
