Kevin Hassett sees ‘thawing’ in US-China ties, confident Supreme Court will uphold Trump’s tariff powers

US economic chief voices optimism on China deal and court win, even as government shutdown stretches into fourth week.

Amid escalating trade tensions and domestic political turmoil, Kevin Hassett, Director of the US National Economic Council, struck a cautiously optimistic note on Friday about prospects for a breakthrough in US–China trade talks.

Hassett said he remained 'hopeful' that negotiations could defuse mounting tariff threats ahead of a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

“President Trump and President Xi are great friends,” Hassett told reporters. “And Scott Bessent is really one of the best negotiators there ever was. We’re still hopeful we can get this thing worked out.”

Tariff threats loom large over fragile truce

The optimism came even as the White House confirmed plans to impose 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese imports starting November 1, a move Trump said was necessary after Beijing announced sweeping export controls on rare earth minerals and magnets, critical to US manufacturing and defence industries.

Trump’s decision effectively doubles the current tariff load to 155 percent, marking a dramatic escalation in the economic standoff. He also said export controls on critical US software would come into effect on the same date.

“Right now, as of November 1st, China will have about 155 percent tariffs put on it,” Trump said earlier this week. “I want to be nice to China, but China has been very rough with us for years.”

The president argued that previous administrations had allowed “one-sided trade” with Beijing, saying the US had “no choice but to act.”

Hassett: ‘A thawing of relations’

Despite the rising tensions, Hassett said he believed the diplomatic temperature had softened in recent days.

“We were frustrated with some of the Chinese actions; they were unacceptable in the last few weeks. But there has been a thawing of relations,” he noted.

According to officials familiar with preparations, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Kuala Lumpur this weekend to try to clear the path for the Trump–Xi talks at next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

Parallel political crisis: fourth week of US shutdown

Domestically, Hassett also addressed the US government shutdown, which entered its fourth week on Friday, affecting around 750,000 federal employees.

He said the administration supported House Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to reopen the government, while urging unpaid workers to seek temporary credit union loans.

“We 100 percent want the government open,” Hassett said. “There are zero-interest credit union options for employees in this situation. But this shutdown is unacceptable.”

Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, with Democrats refusing to reopen the government without expanded funding for furloughed workers.

Tariffs head to Supreme Court

Meanwhile, Hassett voiced 'extremely high' confidence that the Trump administration will prevail in the US Supreme Court, which is set to hear arguments next month on the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

The case challenges Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping import levies on goods from nearly every country. Critics, including small businesses and 12 US states, say the move exceeded presidential authority and pushed some firms toward bankruptcy.

“We have a very high level of confidence that the Supreme Court will side with us,” Hassett said. “The case is very strong, and we’re confident they’ll uphold the President’s authority.”

Two lower courts have previously ruled that most of the tariffs were illegally imposed, but a 7–4 appeals court decision allowed them to remain in effect pending appeal. The justices have scheduled an unusually fast-track hearing for November, according to Al Jazeera.