Trump weighs slashing China tariffs to 50% ahead of crucial trade talks: Report

The proposed move comes ahead of high-level trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials in Switzerland.

The Trump administration is considering a significant reduction in the steep tariffs currently imposed on Chinese imports, with changes possibly taking effect as early as next week, according to a report by the New York Post. The proposed move comes ahead of high-level trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials in Switzerland.

The report, citing sources close to the talks, states that officials are weighing a plan to lower the existing 145% tariff on Chinese goods to a range between 50 percent and 54 percent. The idea, sources say, is to create a more sustainable framework for ongoing negotiations, which are expected to be prolonged and complex.

A source told the New York Post that “they are going to be bringing it down to 50 percent while the negotiations are ongoing,” describing it as a temporary measure to get stalled supply chains moving. Trade tariffs on some South Asian countries are also expected to be slashed to 25 percent, the source added.

The move reportedly aligns with earlier discussions held at an April 21 White House meeting attended by President Trump and retail giants including Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Target CEO Brian Cornell, and Home Depot CEO Ted Decker. Although the CEOs described the meeting as “productive” and “constructive,” they did not reveal specific details, the Post reported.

Retail industry insiders have already begun preparing for potential changes. Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, which manufactures classic toys like Tonka Trucks and Care Bears in China, told the Post that “the signals we are getting is that the dam will break by the end of this week or next.”

Retailers, anticipating volatility, have started requesting vendor quotes based on a sliding tariff scale between 10 percent and 54 percent, Foreman noted, to remain flexible when pricing products as they arrive in the U.S.

A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, maintained that “when decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the President. Anything else is just pure speculation,” according to the New York Post.

Still, optimism appears to be building within business circles. A source told the Post that CEOs felt “very reassured” after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently remarked that the current 145% tariff level “isn’t sustainable,” during his appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

The Post reports that Southeast Asian nations are also pressing the U.S. Treasury to secure trade deals, with discussions reportedly intensifying in recent days.