US-China tariff talks ‘a bit stalled,’ needs Trump, Xi input, Bessent says

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(Reuters) -U.S. trade talks with China are “a bit stalled” and getting a deal over the finish line will likely need the direct involvement of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.

Two weeks after breakthrough negotiations led by Bessent that resulted in a temporary truce in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, Bessent told Fox News that progress since then has been slow, but said he expects more talks in the next few weeks.

“I believe we may at some point have a call between the president and party Chair Xi,” Bessent said.

“Given the magnitude of the talks, given the complexity … this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other,” he said. “They have a good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known.”

The U.S.-China agreement to dial back triple-digit tariffs for 90 days prompted a massive relief rally in global stocks. But it did nothing to address the underlying reasons for Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China’s state-dominated, export-driven economic model, leaving those issues for future talks.

Since the mid-May deal, the Trump administration has concentrated on tariff negotiations with other major trading partners, including India, Japan and the European Union. Trump last week threatened 50% tariffs on EU goods, only to delay that threat.

A U.S. trade court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing the bulk of his tariffs on imports from China and other countries under an emergency powers act. But less than 24 hours later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, saying it was pausing the trade court ruling to consider the government’s appeal. The appeals court ordered the plaintiffs to respond by June 5 and the administration to respond by June 9.

Bessent said earlier that some trading partners, including Japan, were negotiating in good faith and that he detected no changes in their postures as a result of the trade court ruling. Bessent said he would meet with a Japanese delegation on Friday in Washington.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Dan Burns; Editing by Leslie Adler)