Bessent: Current Tariff Levels on China 'Working Pretty Well'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that while he expects more trade talks with China in the next two months, the administration is "very happy" with the current combination of Section 301 tariffs, 20% fentanyl tariffs and 10% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods, he said.
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"China is the biggest revenue line in the tariff income -- so if it’s not broke, don’t fix it," he said in the evening interview Aug. 19. China started selling rare earth magnets to American customers, and "we took off some countermeasures."
"I think right now the status quo is working pretty well," he added.
Ingraham also pressed Bessent on why India is in the secondary tariff crosshairs when China is a bigger economic ally to Russia. "Why haven't we put significant secondary tariffs on China for what they're doing to help Russia?" she asked.
Bessent repeated the argument he made earlier that India significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil, and Chinese purchases went from 13% to 16% of their imports.
"We already have very high tariffs on China, and now India's going to see what it feels like," he said.
Ingraham responded, "But China buys an enormous amount of ag from Russia as well. Without China, Russia couldn't be in this war."
"I agree," Bessent said, adding that China has sold at least $15 billion worth of dual-use technologies to Russia.