US President Donald Trump says that any reduction in tariffs placed on China will depend on the actions of its leaders.
"It depends on China how soon the tariffs can come down," he said speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
He added that he expected to strike a deal and set the final tariff figure on China over the next two or three weeks.
Earlier this week, he signalled that he would cut his 145 per cent tariff on Chinese imports substantially, but did not clarify by how much.
Mr Trump placed import taxes of 145 per cent on China, which countered with 125 per cent tariffs on US goods.
China responded saying the Trump administration should stop trying to bully and blackmail its trading partner.
It said US tariffs defied "basic economic laws and common sense".
The White House is open to discussing a significant rate cut on Chinese imports in order to advance negotiations with Beijing but will not do so alone, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
That person would not say how low the White House might be willing to go, but the Wall Street Journal reported the figure could be as low as 50 per cent.
A White House spokesperson dismissed any reports as "pure speculation" and said news on tariffs would come from Trump himself.
"We are going to have a fair deal with China," Mr Trump said.
Clarity on tariffs might take months
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that high tariffs between the United States and China were not sustainable.
Mr Trump confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that he was in direct contact with China and President Xi "every day".
Despite that, there remains little clarity on a deal being struck between the two nations.
Mr Bessent said the third quarter of this year was a "reasonable estimate" for achieving clarity on the ultimate level of Trump's tariffs.
In addition to the steep tariffs on China, Mr Trump has also imposed a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all other US imports and higher duties on steel, aluminium and autos.
He has suspended targeted tariffs on dozens of other countries until July 9 and floated additional industry-specific levies on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
That has roiled financial markets and raised fears of recession.
The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday the tariffs would slow growth and push debt higher across the globe.
S&P Global found that US business activity slowed to a 16-month low in April while prices charged for goods and services soared.
The Federal Reserve said it found economic activity in the United States to be steady over the past month, despite "pervasive" uncertainty around trade.
The central bank's survey found a drop in international visitors in some areas, and the outlook in several of the Fed's 12 regional districts "worsened considerably."
US states sue Trump administration
A dozen states have sued the Trump administration in the US Court of International Trade in New York to stop its tariff policy, saying it has brought chaos to the American economy.
The lawsuit said the policy put in place by President Trump has been subject to his "whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority".
It challenged Mr Trump's claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.
The states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
In a release, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called Trump's tariff scheme "insane".
She said it was "not only economically reckless — it is illegal".
Reuters/AP
