‘It’s about bad actors’: US Treasury Secy on tariffs hike on China, says India ‘front’ in trade negotiations

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Wednesday (local time) addressed the immediate increase in tariffs of 125 per cent on China, stating that the issue is not just about the country but also about “bad actors” in global trade during a press briefing at the White House.

He emphasised that such a move focuses on countries like China, which have been contributing to imbalances in the global economy.

During the briefing, along with the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Bessent stated that trade negotiations amid the reciprocal tariff announcements were mainly taking place with “China’s neighbours” like Japan, South Korea and India.

“Well, it’s about bad actors. And what we see is some of the very early countries are China’s neighbours that we’re going to see. I’ve seen Vietnam today. Japan is in front, South Korea and India. So we will see. And as I’ve repeatedly said, and President Trump has been saying for four years, China is the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and they are the biggest source of the US trade problems. And indeed they are a problem for the rest of the world,” Bessent said.

“I’m not calling it a trade war, but I am saying that China has escalated, and the President responded very courageously to that, and we are going to work on a solution with our trading partners,” he added.

The US Secretary of the Treasury highlighted the success of US President Trump’s negotiating strategy, which he said has brought over 75 countries forward to engage in trade talks.

“The successful negotiating strategy that President Trump implemented a week ago today. It has brought more than 75 countries forward to negotiate. It took great courage – great courage for him to stay the course until this moment, and it ended up here. As I told everyone a week ago in this very spot, ‘Do not retaliate, and you will be rewarded.’ So every country in the world that wants to come and negotiate, we are willing to hear you; we’re going to go down to a 10 per cent baseline tariff for them, and China will be raised to 125 per cent due to their insistence on escalation,” Bessent stated.

Earlier, President Trump announced an immediate increase in tariffs on China to 125 per cent and simultaneously announced that for 75 countries that have called Representatives of the United States for trade talks, he has authorised a 90-day “pause” and a substantially lower reciprocal tariff.

The move by the US President came following a retaliatory move by China, where it increased its tariff on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent starting April 10.

On the issue of Trump’s involvement in the trade negotiations, Bessent clarified that the 90-day period for negotiations is part of the President’s decision, adding, “President Trump wants to be personally involved. So that’s why we’re hitting the 90-day plan.”

In response to questions about the scope of the negotiations, Bessent noted that while the focus is on trade, other areas are also on the table. He mentioned a potential LNG project in Alaska, which South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are interested in financing.

Meanwhile, Press Secretary Leavitt also weighed in, asserting that the global response shows a shift toward the US, not China.

“Many of you in the media clearly missed the ‘art of the deal’; you clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China when, in fact, we’ve seen the opposite effect. The entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets,” she said.

Leavitt concluded by affirming President Trump’s long-term approach, saying, “We finally have a president here at the White House who is playing the long game, who is doing what is right for the American worker.”

Earlier today, in a retaliatory move, China announced that it would increase its tariff on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent starting April 10, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The decision comes after the US increased tariffs on China to a whopping 104 per cent, following President Trump’s threat of “additional 50 per cent tariffs” on Beijing starting Wednesday.

Trump had announced an additional 50 per cent tariff on China after Beijing announced a 34 per cent tariff on the United States in a tit-for-tat response. (ANI)