[Source/Observer Network Xiong Chaoyan] For several consecutive days, the U.S. government has been releasing signals from top to bottom, indicating a desire to cool down the tariff standoff between China and the United States. The meaning that they can't endure it anymore is quite obvious. Now, U.S. media have also started to spread rumors.

On April 23 local time, The Wall Street Journal reported exclusively, citing insiders, that the Trump administration is considering significantly reducing the high tariffs on Chinese imports, cutting them by more than half in some cases, with the aim of easing tensions between China and the United States, which have disrupted global trade and investment activities. Insiders revealed that President Trump has not yet made a final decision and claimed that related discussions still have uncertainties, with multiple options being considered.

A senior White House official said that U.S. tariffs on China may be reduced to a rate range of approximately 50% to 65%. Some insiders stated that the Trump administration is also considering adopting a so-called "tiered taxation" plan, similar to the proposal put forward last December by the U.S. House of Representatives' "U.S.-China Strategic Competition Special Committee" — imposing a 35% tariff on goods that do not pose a national security threat to the U.S., while levying at least a 100% tariff on goods involving what they call "American strategic interests." This proposal suggests that this tariff system would be implemented in phases over five years.

According to the report, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai responded in this way: "President Trump has clearly indicated that China needs to reach an agreement with the U.S. The decision regarding tariffs will be made directly by the president. Any other talk is just pure speculation."

Earlier on April 23, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiaqun had already stated that if the U.S. really wants to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop threatening blackmail and engage in dialogue with China on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit. One side says they want to reach an agreement with China while constantly engaging in extreme pressure; this is not the correct way to deal with China, nor will it work.

Trump waiting for a phone call in the Oval Office at the White House. CNN video screenshot.

Since Trump defiantly proposed the so-called "reciprocal tariff" at the beginning of this month, global trade tensions have intensified, especially between China and the U.S. Furthermore, Trump's escalating tariff threats have caused global stock markets to experience one of their worst single-week declines in many years.

In early February this year, less than two weeks after returning to the White House, Trump manipulated the fentanyl issue, announcing a 10% tariff on imports from China. Since then, he has continued to threaten with the "tariff stick" while repeatedly claiming unilaterally that he would soon call China.

On April 16 local time, CNBC cited a U.S. business executive who spoke last week. "We called the White House to ask about the progress of the calls," the anonymous executive said, and the White House replied, "China hasn’t called us." The executive then added, "From the very beginning, it was clear that this administration grossly overestimated the leverage that tariffs gave them over China."

Currently, under continuous countermeasures from China, Trump and his administration have actually changed their tone.

On April 17 local time, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he didn’t want to continue increasing tariffs on China because it might cause a halt in trade between the two countries.

Bloomberg and other media reported on the same day that when asked how the U.S. would respond to further countermeasures from China, Trump hinted to reporters that he might be willing to reduce tariffs. "At some point, I don’t want to raise tariffs anymore because people won’t buy goods at a certain level," he said.

Trump then said, "So I may not want to raise tariffs any further, and I may even want to lower them. I might want to lower tariffs because you want people to buy goods."

Later that evening, Trump told reporters at the White House, "I think we'll reach an agreement with China, and we'll reach agreements with everyone. If we don’t reach an agreement, we’ll set a target and that’s it, which would be fine too." He said that although some people urged him to accelerate the negotiation process, he believed there was still "ample" time to reach an agreement with China and expected positive results. "I think the entire negotiation could be completed in the next three to four weeks."

Fox News noticed that Trump also added when answering questions that "China has contacted us multiple times," and he said, "The frequency of contact between China and the U.S. is very frequent."

By April 22 local time, according to the Associated Press, when asked whether he would take a "hard stance" against China, Trump denied at the Oval Office in the White House, saying, "No, I wouldn’t say 'I’m going to be tough on China.' We will treat them very friendly, and they will reciprocate, and we will see what happens." Later, he added when answering another question that if no trade agreement was reached with China, "we just need to set the (tariff) numbers."

USA Today reported that despite the lack of formal trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, Trump still appeared confident, saying, "This agreement will be fair for everyone. And I believe this negotiation process will be completed very quickly."

In subsequent questions, Trump reiterated his unwillingness to continue raising tariffs on China. When talking about the 145% tariff on China, he claimed that the current tariff rate on Chinese imports would not remain at its current level, "A 145% tariff is very high but it won’t stay like that forever." When pressed about the level to which the tariff would decrease, Trump replied, "It will drop significantly. But it won’t go to zero." He then repeated his absurd argument about "China taking advantage of zero-tariff trade in the past."

Notably, Axios News website noticed that shortly before Trump made these remarks, two tariff-related messages released by the U.S. government on the same day also revealed a softening of the government's stance.

Firstly, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, seen as the main negotiator for tariffs, made comments on April 22 local time during a closed-door speech, warning about the tense trade situation between China and the U.S., frankly telling investors that the current deadlock was unsustainable.

According to reports, Yellen said at a private investment conference hosted by J.P. Morgan in Washington, "Under the current tariff rates, no one believes that the status quo can continue indefinitely."

While expressing concern, Yellen also tried to reassure investors. Yellen said he expected the U.S.-China trade war initiated by Trump to ease "very shortly." However, he also admitted that talks with China have not yet begun, and that this negotiation would be a "long-term battle."

A participant in the meeting said that Yellen described the current situation as essentially a "trade embargo" in his speech, and insisted that the purpose of U.S. tariffs on China was "not to decouple from China." He also believed that the prospects of easing tensions between these two economic superpowers "should provide relief to the world and the market."

Axios News website noted that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Yellen's positive expectations for negotiations with China earlier that day. Although neither of them indicated that talks with China had begun, Leavitt still said that Trump wanted people to know that the U.S. government was making "good progress" toward a potential trade agreement with China and was laying the groundwork for reaching such an agreement.

However, regarding the actual progress of the talks, Leavitt was vague. When pressed about the most anticipated progress in negotiations with China, she avoided the question.

Local time on April 22, Trump giving an interview at the White House. Video screenshot.

CNBC previously pointed out that although China has stated that it "no longer cares about the U.S. tariff number game," it seems to indicate that it will no longer focus on tariffs on American goods. However, some signs suggest that a series of non-tariff restrictive measures are becoming countermeasures against the U.S. Previously, China had expanded export controls on rare earth minerals and listed several U.S. companies on the Unreliable Entity List and as subjects of anti-monopoly investigations. The latest reports on Boeing continue to make the U.S. uneasy.

The report cited analysts' general expectations that China's subsequent non-tariff policy tools would remain strong. Senior Economist William Xu of Natixis in Greater China said, "Ultimately, only when a country has suffered enough self-inflicted harm will it consider softening its stance and truly return to the negotiating table."

On April 15 local time, Financial Times also quoted Julian Evans-Pritchard, chief China economist at Capital Economics, who added, "Judging from market reactions alone, I believe the U.S. is feeling stronger pain right now... The U.S. is under greater pressure to sit down and negotiate."

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis once told Observer Network that Trump weaponizing tariffs is far more than just a simple U.S.-China confrontation or U.S.-EU博弈.本质上是美国统治阶级为维持自身权力、强化全球霸主地位而采取的主动策略。他提醒道，“如果这种策略需要以美国民众承担重大代价为前提，他们仍会毫不犹豫地推进。因此，我想给中国朋友的忠告是：不要误判形势，认为当美国自身痛苦达到临界点时，特朗普政府就会退缩。”他强调，只有当美国统治阶级付出的代价足够惨重时，政策才会转向——这才是决定事态发展的终极标准。

On April 23, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiaqun presided over the regular press conference. A journalist raised the issue of "Trump possibly significantly reducing tariffs" and mentioned Trump and Yellen's statements on April 22 local time.

In response, Guo Jiaqun stated, "China has long pointed out that there are no winners in a tariff war or a trade war, and protectionism offers no way out. Decoupling and severing supply chains will only isolate oneself. Regarding America's tariff war, China's attitude is clear: we do not want to fight, but we are not afraid to fight. If we fight, we will see it through to the end; if we negotiate, the door remains open."

Guo Jiaqun emphasized that if the U.S. genuinely wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop threatening blackmail and engage in dialogue with China on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit. Saying one thing while constantly exerting maximum pressure is not the correct way to deal with China and will not work.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7496534864003449398/

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