President Trump said Wednesday that he would not lower high tariffs on goods from China ahead of talks this weekend between U.S. and Chinese officials, despite requests from Beijing to do so.
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he would reduce tariffs on Chinese exports — which are now at a minimum of 145 percent — to initiate talks, Mr. Trump was succinct: “No.”
He also implied that the Chinese had been the ones to request trade talks, contradicting statements by China that the two sides were meeting at the request of the Americans. “I think they ought to go back and study their files,” the president said.
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, plan to meet with Chinese officials on Saturday and Sunday in Geneva to discuss trade and economic matters. The countries have been locked in a standoff. High tariffs have been hurting businesses in both countries, but neither government has wanted to look like it is conceding to the other by requesting a meeting.
Chinese officials say they have little clarity from the U.S. side about which policy changes could mollify Mr. Trump, and it is unclear whether the two countries will strike any kind of trade deal.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said China would need to “stop fentanyl from coming in,” and he blamed former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for not upholding an agreement that Mr. Trump signed with China during his first term.
Mr. Trump spoke from the Oval Office as he swore in David Perdue, the new ambassador to China. A former senator from Georgia, Mr. Perdue is also a former chief executive of Reebok and Dollar General, and the business community has viewed him as someone who could be a moderating force on the U.S.-China relationship.
“I picked him a long time ago but it just happened to come due on a pretty important date,” the president said.
Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.
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