Donald Trump prepared to impose lower tariffs if China talks fail
- US president says additional duties could start at 10 per cent instead of 25 per cent
- Trump has already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and has threatened to tax an additional US$325 billion in imports
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Pradnya Joshi on politico.com on June 26, 2019.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was prepared to impose additional tariffs on China if talks this week do not end in progress, but suggested additional duties could start at a lower amount of 10 per cent.
Trump has already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods and has been preparing to levy duties on the remaining US$325 billion of goods the US imports from the country.
In an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business News on Wednesday morning, the president said he might begin with a 10 per cent duty, if his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit does not end well.
“Phase 2 doesn’t have to be 25 per cent. It could be 10 per cent, which people can absolutely handle,” Trump said.