Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will finally start negotiating with Chinese counterparts. But business leaders shouldn’t expect any sudden breakthroughs.
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, will discuss trade and economic matters with the officials this week.
The two countries signed a deal three years after negotiations began to strengthen alliances in what the British prime minister called a “new era” of trade.
“Trade should not be a weapon,” he said at Berkshire’s annual shareholders’ meeting. Investors had been awaiting his comments on trade, given the conglomerate’s status as an economic bellwether.
Washington and Beijing increasingly look likely to de-escalate their trade war. But the economic damage and ongoing uncertainty may persist for a while.
The president’s threats of tariffs have brought countries like Japan, South Korea and India rushing to negotiate, but they have sown chaos with bigger trading partners like China.