Trump says he would ‘rather not’ have to impose tariffs on China

US President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump said he’d prefer not to have to impose tariffs on China, his latest dovish remark toward the world’s second-biggest economy even as he continues to threaten sweeping action.

“We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs, and they don’t want them,” the US leader told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that aired Thursday in the US. “And I’d rather not have to use it. But it’s a tremendous power over China.”

Trump has wielded tariffs as a frequent threat against friends and adversaries, and for the US promised additional revenue from them would help fund his domestic priorities. The US leader threatened on his second day in office to put 10% tariffs on China as soon as Feb. 1 for allowing fentanyl to “pour” into America.

Markets have taken it as a positive sign that Trump stopped short of imposing the tariffs on China in his first days in office, and his recent threats were softer than those issued last year. On the campaign trail, the Republican floated additional levies on China around the 60% mark, which economists have said could decimate US trade with a Chinese economy heavily reliant on exports.

The yuan extended gains in both onshore and offshore markets after Trump’s latest comments. The offshore yuan rose 0.3% against the greenback, while the onshore yuan gained 0.2%. Chinese stocks also extended gains, with the benchmark CSI 300 Index ending the morning session up 1%. A gauge of the nation’s shares listed in Hong Kong jumped more than 2%.

Trump’s latest comments came in a wide-ranging conversation that also touched on other immediate global challenges he faces in his first week in office. The US president threatened to impose “massive” additional financial penalties on Russia if it didn’t get to the negotiating table to end its war in Ukraine, called Iran’s leadership “religious zealots,” and said he also planned to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

What Bloomberg Economics Says ...
It’s hard to know exactly what US President Donald Trump was getting at with his latest comments on China tariffs ... That said, it’s difficult to see Trump backing down from his tariff threats. And analysis by Bloomberg Economics shows there’s a lot at stake for China, and the world. Chang Shu, chief Asia economist

Trump also reiterated his admiration for China and its leader Xi Jinping during the interview, saying he was “like my friend” and that a recent call with him “went fine.” “It was a good, friendly conversation,” Trump said.
“I had a great relationship with him prior to Covid,” he added. “They are a very ambitious country. He’s a very ambitious man.”

‘Smart Guy’
Trump also had praise for Kim, saying the North Korean leader “happens to be a smart guy” and isn’t a “religious zealot” like the leaders of Iran. Trump said he plans to reach out to Kim.
While Kim hasn’t directly namechecked Trump since his election victory, state media earlier carried comments from the North Korean leader saying past talks with the US during Trump’s first term had only served to confirm Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward North Korea.

Trump had harsher words for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, threatening “massive” tariffs and big new sanctions if he didn’t settle the war. “I don’t want to do that, but we’ve got to get this war ended,” Trump said.

Trump also criticized Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s handling of the initial stages of the conflict, saying he’s “no angel.”