Trump willing to drop 'huge' tariffs on China, but with conditions: Here's what the US president said

US President Donald Trump hinted on Sunday that he is ready to consider lowering tariffs on China, subject to conditions, signaling a possible de-escalation in the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. Speaking to reporters on Sunday about tariffs imposed on China, Trump noted that Beijing is paying a “tremendous” amount of money in tariffs, and “they [would] probably like to have it less.” “We’re working on it,” the US president said without elaborating, adding that “they [China] we have to give something too.” Trump went on to say that while Beijing also paid a significant amount of money during his first presidency, the current outflow from the Chinese treasury was unprecedented. “You know they [China] paid a lot during my first administration, my first term. Now, they’re paying an incredible amount of money to the United States … they probably can’t pay that much,” was Trump’s claim. The US president went on to say that he was “okay” with China wanting lower tariffs, but reiterated that Beijing “will have to do things for us as well”. incrementally piling higher tariffs on China. The most recent escalation between the two powers was Trump’s decision to slapping 100% tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1, 2025 in retaliation for Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports, which it said were a “sinister and hostile” way to “hold the world captive”. If the proposed additional levy takes effect from November 1 as announced, China’s imports to the US will face a 130%. duty That said, Trump told Fox on Friday Business said its proposed additional tariffs on China were “not sustainable”, when asked if the tariffs could remain in place without significantly affecting the US economy. “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is,” the US president said, adding that, “They [China] forced me to do it.” However, Trump also added that he felt it would be “fine” with China, a significant softening of his comments about Beijing’s export controls earlier. With trade talks already underway between the two economic powerhouses, Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in a few weeks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Seoul, which will begin from October 31.