WASHINGTON, May 5 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The United States will have to lower import tariffs on Chinese goods, because otherwise it will be impossible to develop trade relations between the two countries, US President Donald Trump said.
"At some point, I'm going to lower them, because otherwise you could never do business with them," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. "And they want to do business very much like their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing."
At the same time, Trump indicated that he did not intend to lower the prohibitive trade barriers for Chinese goods to start negotiations between Washington and Beijing, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti. The US leader also believes that the Chinese economy is being destroyed due to the import tariffs imposed by the United States.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published an updated forecast, predicting a slowdown in China's economic growth in 2025 to 4 per cent, 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous forecast.
At the same time, the IMF significantly lowered its forecast for US GDP growth this year, expecting a slowdown in American economic growth of 1.8 per cent, which is 0.9 percentage points lower than the fund's January estimate.
On April 2, Trump signed a decree introducing "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from other countries. Their base rate is 10 per cent, and for 57 countries, increased rates have been in effect since April 9, which were calculated based on the US trade deficit with a particular country, so that there is a balance instead of a deficit.
However, on April 9, the US leader announced that more than 75 countries had not taken retaliatory measures and had requested negotiations, so basic import duties of 10 per cent would be in effect for 90 days for everyone except China.
After a series of steps in the trade war, the additional "reciprocal" US tariff on Chinese goods reached 125 per cent, and China's retaliatory tariff on American goods is also 125 per cent. In addition, the United States has another 20 per cent tariff on China, introduced in connection with accusations of insufficient combat against synthetic drugs.
--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI
