Last year, the USA and China imposed tariffs on each other, but things have calmed down recently. Will there now be further de-escalation?
May 14, 2026, 5:38 p.mMay 14, 2026, 5:38 p.m
In the tariff conflict between the USA and China, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has named conditions for possible reductions in import taxes. The core idea is a Board of Trade through which both sides should identify goods in harmless areas, he said in an interview with the US broadcaster CNBC when asked which goods would be eligible for tariff reductions worth around $30 billion. Bessent held out the prospect of mutual trade facilitation.
Scott Bessent.Image: keystone
The minister cited examples of “fireworks or particularly cheap consumer goods that will definitely continue to come from China,” for which tariffs will then be reduced or even suspended. At the same time, he restricted that there should only be tariff reductions for products that were neither of strategic importance for the USA nor should they be produced in the United States.
At the same time, Bessent emphasized that China had signaled interest in purchasing several US goods – including liquefied natural gas and crude oil. In order to meet the increasing demand, oil production in the US state of Alaska should be boosted.
US President Donald Trump is currently visiting China’s head of state Xi Jinping in Beijing. There will be high-ranking ministers and a number of highly respected business leaders. (hkl/sda/dpa)