US Treasury secretary says trade war with China is not ‘sustainable’

By JOSH BOAK and FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON AP U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained in a Tuesday speech that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and expects a de-escalation in the business war between the world s two largest economies Related Articles US State Department unveils massive overhaul of agency with reduction of staff and bureaus Federal court rulings have slowed down Trump deportation plans What you need to know What do expert level talks signal for the progress of the Iran-US nuclear negotiations Hegseth pulled airstrike info from secure military channel for Signal posts NBC News reports Colorado fights Trump administration bid to help imprisoned loyalist Tina Peters But in a private speech in Washington for JPMorgan Chase Bessent also cautioned that talks between the United States and China had yet to formally start Trump placed import taxes of on China which has countered with tariffs on U S goods Trump has placed tariffs on several dozen countries causing the stock sector to stumble and interest rates to increase on U S debt as investors worry about slower economic rise and higher inflationary pressures I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations Bessent commented according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable The S P stock index rose after Bloomberg News initially released Bessent s remarks The Trump administration has met for talks with counterparts from Japan India South Korea the European Union Canada and Mexico among other nations But Trump has shown no residents indications that he plans to pullback his baseline tariff even as he has insisted he s looking for other nations to cut their own import taxes and remove any non-tariff obstacles that the administration says have hindered exports from the U S