The Trump administration might take a sharp U-turn, once again, on the tariff policy stance. China, which is currently facing a triple-digit tariff spectre, the highest among other nations, might witness duties coming down by as much as 50%. As per a report by the New York Post, the US administration is planning to cut the 145% tariff figure by more than half, as soon as next week.
This news development comes as top officials from the US and China head to Switzerland for "high-level trade negotiations", The Post reported.
The report also indicated that the 'reciprocal' tariffs imposed on Chinese goods might come down to the range of 50% and 54%. "You can't get any higher. It's at 145, so we know it's coming down," Trump reportedly said.
"I think it's a very friendly meeting. They look forward to doing it in an elegant way," the US President added.
The meeting in Switzerland this weekend is the clearest sign that both nations want to ease trade war tensions, which have caused mayhem in stock markets and investor sentiments.
Trump's April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement had earlier pushed the US stock market into the red territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted nearly 10% in just 5 trading sessions. Other benchmark indices, including the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq, followed suit.
Global markets also plunged as investor sentiment took a major hit and fears over trade war tensions escalated.
However, the US administration's 90-day pause brought a sigh of relief, with markets erasing some losses.
US GDP Takes a Hit
The US economy witnessed a slowdown in Q1 of 2025, contracting to 0.3%. “The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and a decrease in government spending,” the US Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a release on Wednesday.
While the impact of tariffs wouldn't have shown up in the first quarter, since they were announced in April, many Wall Street analysts warned that the US economy might bear the brunt of the tariff play.
"This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers," POTUS said in a social media post.
