The U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said on Tuesday in a media briefing that the Chinese tariffs “are unsustainable,” warning that the country could lose between 5 and 10 million jobs as a consequence.
“Well, we’re not going to talk about who’s talking to whom,” Bessent stated, referring to negotiations between the two largest economies in the world, “but I think that over time we will see that the Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China.”
The government official warned that “if these numbers stay on, China could lose 10 million jobs very quickly,” adding that “even if there is a drop in the tariffs, they could lose 5 million jobs.”
Bessent highlighted that the U.S. is “the deficit country,” as China “sell[s] almost five times more goods to us than we sell to them,” saying that “the onus will be on them to the take off these tariffs.”
In March, Donald Trump announced a 25% duty on all imported vehicles and auto parts. A tariffs plan was unveiled by the Administration earlier this month, setting rates from a baseline mininum of 10%, 20% for the EU and up to 54% for China.
On April 9, the President implemented a 90-day tariff pause, but it did not cover the 25% vehicle tariff or the duties on China. After several rounds of multiple tariff hikes from both sides, U.S. tariffs on Chinese products have reached 245%, while China is currently imposing a 125% tariff on American goods.
Late last year, the Biden Administration quadrupled the duties on every China-made EV to 100% while tariffs on solar cells were increased to 50% and aluminum and steel products started facing a 25% duty.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun denied that both countries are currently holding trade negotiations after the Trump Administration affirmed it multiple times over the last few days.
Uncertainty
When asked about providing markets with certainty regarding possible deals with other countries, Bessent stated that “certainty is not necessarily a good thing in negotiating.”
The secretary noted that Trump’s “strategic uncertainty in the negotiations” is “a little disconcerting for the markets,” but the President is “more concerned about getting the best possible trade deals” for American people.
After “four years of bad deals” and “decades of unfair trading,” Bessent said that the Administration is “going to unwind those and make them fair.”
Last weekend, Bessent told ABC News that the U.S. is negotiating with 18 “trading partners,” which include China and that “some of those are moving along very well, especially with the Asian countries.”
A report from local outlet Nikkei revealed last week that Japan is considering easing auto safety rules as it is negotiating with the U.S. The East Asian country doesn’t impose any tariffs on imported vehicles, as most of its sales are from domestic brands and rules regarding vehicle size are stricter.
South Korea and the U.S. have also been negotiating a trade package regarding the removal of reciprocal tariffs, according to Seoul’s representation in Washington DC.
In Thailand (which faced a 35% tariff, one of the highest rates), Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said last week that the postponed talks would be approached “with the mindset that we’ll give them something if they’re also willing to give us something.”
