United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has stated that the ongoing bilateral talks with China, currently taking place in Geneva, aim to ease tensions between the two global economic powers. Speaking on Sunday, Lutnick expressed confidence that the coming months would see a succession of trade agreements, though he did not specify which countries were involved.
Lutnick pointed to the intention of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to defuse the current friction, particularly around the steep tariffs that have characterised recent US-China trade relations. “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has made it clear one of his objectives is to de-escalate. You know, 145% and 125% are really – those are kind of tariffs where you are not trading with each other. So he’s there to see if we can reset the conversation,” Lutnick explained.
These remarks came in response to a question regarding the Trump administration’s expectations for the outcome of the talks. The Commerce Secretary was referencing the 125% retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and the 145% tariffs introduced by the United States as part of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing through aggressive trade policy.
“For the next three months this policy is going to see trade deal after trade deal,” Lutnick stated, echoing President Trump’s consistent defence of the high tariffs. However, Lutnick refrained from naming any specific nations that might finalise agreements with the US during that period.
Only last week, a limited bilateral trade deal was announced between President Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, signalling a possible shift towards more targeted economic partnerships.
Addressing concerns about domestic job losses in sectors such as trucking and dock work, Lutnick dismissed such reports. “This is just a China problem right now,” he said. “The rest of the world is 10% (tariffs). So don’t overdo it,” he added, attempting to downplay the broader impact of the tariffs.
He concluded by assuring that price stability would follow once the current trade policy is fully implemented: “Prices are going to stay stable once this policy is done.”