On April 17, President Donald Trump said he was not keen on hiking tariffs in China as he could halt trade between the two countries.
“At some point, I don’t want them to be expensive because I make it in a place where people don’t buy at certain points, so I might not want to be expensive, or I might not want to go to that level,” Trump said. “I might want to be less because you want people to buy it.”
Trump also told reporters in the oval office that officials representing China’s President Xi Jinping had tried to begin a speech but did not confirm whether they were in direct contact with their Chinese counterparts.
“I have a very good relationship with President XI. I think that will continue. And I think they’ve reached out many times,” Trump said.
It should be noted that Trump imposed “mutual tariffs” on April 2nd in all countries before suspending them for everything except China on April 9th.
Currently, the US is collecting a 245% tariff on Chinese imports, and China is imposing a 125% tariff on US imports.
Related: Tariff Live Update: Trump attacks Jerome Powell and asks for his fire
Tariff tensions have shook the crypto market since April 2nd, with Trump being called “liberation day.” His soft rhetoric in China had no positive effect on the market.
Total crypto market capitalization fell 1.7% to $2.75 trillion within a day. Bitcoin slid the $85,300 price mark within a day to $84,500.94 within a day, in accordance with Kraken’s price supply.