U.S., China Set for Trade Talks in Switzerland

The U.S. and China are set for trade talks in Switzerland in the coming days.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with Chinese economic officials in Switzerland, the Treasury Department said late Tuesday. Bessent will “meet with the lead representative on economic matters from the People’s Republic of China,” the department said in a statement that said he would travel to Switzerland on Thursday, where he would also meet with Swiss Confederation President Karin Ketter-Sutter.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also travel to Switzerland to “discuss trade matters” with Chinese representatives, his office said. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed their participation in talks in their own statement.

A meeting between American and Chinese officials would mark the latest sign of progress—or, at least, the possibility of progress—toward a trade deal between the U.S. and China, who are currently mired in a trade war in which both countries have levied tariffs of more than 100% on one another. 

Many American business rely on China for products or components, with some responding to the tariffs by seeking to move their manufacturing operations or otherwise update their supply chains and others lobbying for tariffs on their sectors to be lifted.

President Donald Trump over the weekend said that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports would likely come down “at some point.” 

“They want to do business very much,” Trump said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

The China tariffs are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to tax imports, a strategy the White House says will restore balance in global trade, bring manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S., and boost government revenue. Economists have warned that the high tariffs against Chinese products could result in higher prices for U.S. consumers and shortages at retailers.