Bessent Expects China Standoff to De-Escalate

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China cannot be sustained by both sides and that the world’s two largest economies will have to find ways to de-escalate.

That de-escalation will come in the very near future, Bessent said during an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Washington, which wasn’t open to the public or media. He characterized the current situation as essentially a trade embargo, according to people who attended the session.

Bessent said that it was not the US’s goal to decouple from China and that the current status quo of 145% tariffs on Chinese goods by the US and 125% tariffs on US products by China was not sustainable. He expressed optimism that tensions could cool in the coming months, which would bring relief to markets, but cautioned that a larger deal could take longer.

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