Trump willing to lower ‘tremendous’ tariffs on China, but with conditions: Here's what the US President said

US President Donald Trump on Sunday hinted that he was ready to consider lowering tariffs on China, subject to conditions, signalling a potential de-escalation in the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One about tariffs imposed on China, Trump said Beijing was paying a "tremendous" amount of money in tariffs, and "they [would] probably like to have it be less".

"We're working on that," the US president said without elaborating, adding, "they [China] have to give us something too."

Trump went on to say that while Beijing also paid a considerable amount of money during his first presidency, the current outflow from the Chinese exchequer was unprecedented.

"You know they [China] paid a lot during my first administration, my first term. Now, they're paying an unbelievable amount of money to the United States... they probably can't pay that much," was Trump's assertion.

The US President said he was "okay" with China wanting lower tariffs but reiterated that Beijing "would have to do things for us too".

What does Trump want in return?

In turn for lower tariffs on China, Trump expects Beijing to buy US soybean and “stop with the fentanyl.”

“Very, you know, normal things. I don't want them to play the rare earth game with us,” the US President said.

Highlighting that US soybean farmers had been boycotted by China, Trump said a deal would not happen if Beijing fails to meet his demands.

“Otherwise I'm not going to make a deal. No, I want them to buy. Our farmers have been boycotted by China as a negotiating point. I don't want that. Our farmers are great. And in particular our soybean farmers. And I want them to start buying soybeans at least in the amount that they were buying before. And I believe they'll be able to do that,” the US President said.

A thaw in ties?

Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have spiked since Trump took office for a second time in January this year, with the US President incrementally piling higher tariffs on China.

The most recent escalation between the two powers was Trump's decision to slap an additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods from 1 November 2025 in retaliation for Beijing's restrictions on the exports of rare earths, which he alleged was a "sinister and hostile" means to "hold the world captive”.

If the proposed additional levy comes into effect from 1 November, as announced, China's imports to the US will face a 130% duty.

That said, Trump on Friday told Fox Business that his proposed additional levies on China were “not sustainable” when asked whether the tariffs could remain in place without significantly affecting the US economy.

“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is," the US President said, adding that, "They [China] forced me to do that.”

However, Trump added that he felt things would be “fine” with China, a significant softening from his earlier comments about Beijing's export controls.

With trade talks already underway between the two economic powerhouses, Trump is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in a couple of weeks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Seoul, which will begin from 31 October.