“I don’t think either side believes the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they fell on each other,” he told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Trump said “everyone wants to be part of what we’re doing,” and that the US and China were in direct contact with trade “everyday.”
A senior official told NBC News on Wednesday that the US is talking to China about tariffs but at a low level where no cabinet officials are involved.
Mixed messaging came the day after Trump made comments interpreted as potentially softening towards Beijing.
Rather than playing hardball with China, the US will “become very nice” and the final tariffs “will “not get anywhere” to the current 145%,” the president told reporters on Tuesday.
White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt denied Trump’s tempered his tone, telling Fox News that “there will not be a unilateral decline in tariffs on China.”
These comments poured cold water into US stocks, halting previous profits on Wednesday and skated on pre-market trading on Thursday. Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, with European indexes falling due to early trading.
Lee Branstetter, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, said:
To talk about tariff cuts before winning concessions from China or launching serious consultations seems like a climb, Branster said.
“That is consistent with the view that, for me, the President really didn’t think about the outcome of his tariff decision,” he added. “They are now more obvious to him.”
Influence of influence
The deadlock between the US and China has caused a growing anxiety as its meaning becomes clearer. This week, the International Monetary Fund cut growth forecasts in the United States, China and most other countries, citing the impact of US tariffs.
The White House is also increasingly concerned about the possibility of a shortage of US retail shelves as orders begin for the end of the year.
A spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, the Germain container transport group, said Thursday that its customers had cancelled 30% shipments from China to the US over concerns about trade disputes.
After a similar battle over tariffs in Trump’s first term, China has long been preparing for a second trade war with the US president, but is in no hurry to offer or meet up with US trade officials.