US-China tariff talks to continue Sunday, an official tells AP, as Trump touts ‘great progress made’

GENEVA AP The first day of sensitive talks between U S and Chinese delegations over tariffs that threaten to upend the global financial system ended without major breakthroughs being stated but President Donald Trump nonetheless touted GREAT PROGRESS The meeting lasted over hours in Switzerland and featured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent U S Commerce Representative Jamieson Greer and a delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng Hours after talks had concluded Trump took to social media to suggest that a full reset of bargain between the U S and China could be on the table A very good meeting at present with China in Switzerland Plenty of things discussed much agreed to A total reset negotiated in a friendly but constructive manner Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform We want to see for the good of both China and the U S an opening up of China to American business GREAT PROGRESS MADE But he gave no further details and bureaucrats at the White House also offered little information during and after the opening day of discussions Trump s post followed an official telling The Associated Press that talks had wrapped up for the day and would continue Sunday The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions which could help stabilize world markets roiled by the U S -China standoff The talks have been shrouded in secrecy and neither side made comments to reporters on the way out Several convoys of black vehicles left the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the U N in Geneva which hosted the talks aimed at de-escalating exchange tensions between the world s two biggest economies Diplomats from both sides also verified that the talks took place The opening day of negotiations were held in the sumptuous th-century Villa Saladin overlooking Lake Geneva The former estate was bequeathed to the Swiss state in according to the Geneva cabinet Trump s assessment aside prospects for a major breakthrough appeared dim when the talks opened Still there is hope that the two countries will scale back the massive taxes tariffs they have slapped on each other s goods a move that would relieve world financial markets and companies on both sides of the Pacific Ocean that depend on U S -China exchange Trump last month raised U S tariffs on China to a combined and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a levy Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries boycotting each other s products disrupting deal that last year topped billion And even before talks got underway Trump suggested Friday that the U S could lower its tariffs on China saying in a Truth Social post that Tariff seems right Up to Scott Sun Yun director of the China initiative at the Stimson Center noted it will be the first time He and Bessent have talked She doubts the Geneva meeting will produce any substantive results The best scenario is for the two sides to agree to de-escalate on the tariffs at the same time she announced adding even a small reduction would send a positive signal It cannot just be words Since returning to the White House in January Trump has aggressively used tariffs as his favorite economic weapon He has for example imposed a tax on imports from almost every country in the world But the fight with China has been the the greater part intense His tariffs on China include a charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States The remaining involve a dispute that dates back to Trump s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then which means the total tariffs on several Chinese goods can exceed During Trump s first term the U S alleged that China uses unfair tactics to give itself an edge in advanced technologies such as quantum computing and driverless cars These include forcing U S and other foreign companies to hand over exchange secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese sector using executive money to subsidize domestic tech firms and outright theft of sensitive technologies Those issues were never fully resolved After nearly two years of negotiation the United States and China reached a so-called Phase One agreement in January The U S agreed then not to go ahead with even higher tariffs on China and Beijing agreed to buy more American products The tough issues such as China s subsidies were left for future negotiations But China didn t come through with the promised purchases partly because COVID- disrupted global commerce just after the Phase One truce was released The fight over China s tech protocol now resumes Trump is also agitated by America s massive agreement deficit with China which came to billion last year Trump slaps hefty tariffs on Switzerland In Switzerland Friday Bessent and Greer also met with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter Trump last month suspended plans to slap hefty tariffs on Swiss goods more than the levies he plastered on exports from European Union For now he has reduced those taxes to but could raise them again The establishment in Bern is taking a cautious approach But it has warned of the impact on crucial Swiss industries like watches coffee capsules cheese and chocolate An increase in commerce tensions is not in Switzerland s interests Countermeasures against U S tariff increases would entail costs for the Swiss economic activity in particular by making imports from the USA more expensive the ruling body announced last week adding that the executive branch is therefore not planning to impose any countermeasures at the present time The cabinet disclosed Swiss exports to the United States on Saturday were subject to an additional tariff and another beginning Wednesday The United States is Switzerland s second-biggest trading partner after the EU the -member-country bloc that nearly surrounds the wealthy Alpine country of more than million U S -Swiss contract in goods and services has quadrupled over the last two decades the establishment revealed The Swiss authorities mentioned Switzerland abolished all industrial tariffs on Jan last year meaning that of all goods from the United States can be imported into Switzerland duty-free