(VOVWORLD) - Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he might not put any higher tariffs on China and may even want to lower tariffs to protect consumers.
"At a certain point, I don't want them to go higher because at a certain point, you make it where people don't buy. I may not want to go higher, or I may not want to even go up to that level — I may want to go to less, because you want people to buy, and at a certain point, people aren't going to buy," Trump said.
The US and China have escalated import duties in an economic clash between the two superpowers, part of a broader wave of sweeping tariffs that Trump has sought to impose on trading partners. He has hiked new levies to a combined 145% on Chinese goods. Beijing has retaliated with duties of 125% on US goods.
The White House insists that China must take the initiative to re-engage, while Beijing claims it is still unclear about Washington’s specific demands.
President Trump also announced that a decision on the TikTok deal will be delayed.