China, U.S. to talk tariffs in weekend Switzerland meeting

The Treasury Department on Tuesday said its secretary, Scott Bessent, will meet with Chinese envoys in Switzerland over the upcoming weekend in an effort to negotiate a trade deal. Bessent will also talk over trade and economic policy with the president of Switzerland during the trip, the Treasury said. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also be part of the American team leading discussions in Switzerland, Greer’s office said.

Bessent said in a Tuesday Fox News interview that the current tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and China were unsustainable—especially for China. U.S. President Donald Trump in April excluded China from a 90-day pause on tariffs after the country imposed high retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

What are the current tariff rates? The United States is currently adding a 145% tariff to imports from China, according to a White House fact sheet. China levied 125% tariffs on American goods, but it recently created a list of exempted U.S. products and is quietly notifying companies of the policy, Reuters recently reported.

What else do we know about upcoming trade deals? President Trump on Tuesday said he could sign deals with representatives from as many as 25 countries if he wanted to, but those deals would have to be fair to the United States. India had already agreed to remove its tariffs on American goods, he said. Trump said he and his team were flexible and would be willing to make adjustments to trade policy for countries seeking a deal. But he also said other countries should get used to paying more for American products.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on how China may be using Cuba as a base for espionage.