US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet the Chinese economic official in Switzerland this week, in a first step intended to break the ice with a view to potential negotiations concerning President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive.
The offices of the American representative in trade and the Treasury indicated that Greer and Bessent would go together to Geneva on Thursday and that they would also meet the Swiss president, Karin Keller-Sutter, in order to approach negotiations on commercial reciprocity.
The Treasury press release specifies that they will meet the leading Chinese economic official, without however appointing it. However, Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng is widely considered to be the “Tsar” of the Chinese economy and the main commercial negotiator. The China Embassy in Washington could not be reached immediately to comment.
The long -term contracts on the main American stock market indices have jumped when this news was announced, resuming exchanges after two consecutive days of losses in Wall Street. The S&P 500 E-Mini term contracts displayed an increase of approximately 1%.
“I look forward to productive discussions when we work to rebalance the international economic system to better serve the interests of the United States,” said Bessent in a statement announcing the meetings.
-The office of the representative in trade said that Greer would also meet the mission of the American commercial agency to the world Trade Organization in Geneva.
“On the instruction of President Trump, I negotiate with other countries in order to rebalance our trade relations to achieve reciprocity, open new markets and protect economic and national security in America,” said Greer. “I am delighted to have constructive discussions with some of my counterparts as well as to visit my team in Geneva, which works tirelessly to advance the interests of the United States on many multilateral files. »»
The press releases do not have the meeting with Chinese officials as the start of real negotiations. Washington and Beijing are indeed engaged in a cat and mouse game concerning customs duties, neither of the two parties wishing to give the impression of retreating in a trade war that has turned the global markets upside down and disturbed the supply chains.
Since its entry into office in January, Trump has imposed new customs duties on Chinese imports, reaching a total of 145%, to sanction China due to commercial practices deemed unfair and the fentanyl crisis in the United States. Beijing retaliated with customs duties of 125%. Bessent called these unbearable levels, evoking a real commercial embargo between the two largest world economies.
