U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hold a joint press conference in Stockholm after concluding the third-round of trade talks with Chinese officials.
The discussion and press availability covered U.S-China trade negotiations, economic cooperation and whether President Trump will meet Xi Jinping. Key moments include questions on tariffs, supply chains, and Beijing diplomacy. WATCH:
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Treasury Secretary Bessent notes as the U.S. economy continues strengthening, and as each trade deal with the U.K, Japan, ASEAN nations and Europe have cemented, the talks between the U.S. and China become more substantive.
With each global trade partner agreeing to terms of access to the USA market more pressure is naturally created on China to complete negotiations and affirm their position as supplier to the world’s largest market.
Fauxahontis, STHU!!
It makes you look ridiculous acting outraged while you pretend
We aren’t that stupid!
Very few senior U.S. government officials chose their words as carefully as Scott Bessent!
It’s a sign of intelligence and a certain degree of caution especially when talking about significant issues.
I like the man and think he’s a good choice for Treasury Secretary because he understands there are many sides to every important issue!
Yes, it was very perceptive when he noted in 2024 there was a record number of Americans applying for welfare benefits while at the same time a record number of requests for passports to visit Europe, Conclusion:
“This is not the kind of America we want.”
Truly a perceptive economist.
We’ll never know if they were really Americans or just millions of illegal immigrants?
In my corner of the world, I’m sure a record number were middle class people who in 2024 were struggling — especially young families and people who didn’t have a cushion to weather the destruction the democrats brought.
Obviously it is also true a lot were illegal aliens, which also is undesirable.
2 weeks ago I went to the 24 hour supermarket which also happens to have cheaper goods in some categories. Lots of other people also like to shop later in the evening when it’s cooler but it was a rough time because checking out was super slow because people didn’t have the money to buy their groceries. IDK what they thought was going to happen but I found myself in a long line of people with no $ on their card. I left truly frightened and grateful that nobody mugged me in the parking lot. What’s going on?
Our country was very close to imploding, but the miracle of President Trump being elected changed the trajectory.
Now it will take a bit of time for us ordinary people to see and feel — to participate — in the u-turn.
I feel so sorry for young people especially. I pray doors are opening, for example small business loans and the opportunity to learn needed skills.
We need to hang tough while the country goes through the throes of righting itself.
The main thing we can do is keep our eyes open for opportunities. For example, the new manufacturing and energy booms will provide people with paths to middle class lives.
We need to support and encourage people that times will get better. Nothing is perfect, but we just dodged destruction so now we have a chance.
And of course we need to pray for those who are suffering.
end of the month….that welfare funding hasn’t posted yet?
No budgeting skills either. Buying it all at once, garbage food included, doesn’t stretch. I wish I could spend what families on food stamps get because I’d be stocked up for months!
You are no longer paying for their groceries
Our community has several church sponsored kitchens that serve hot breakfast or lunch on different days to accommodate as many as possible.
We also have food pantries where families or individuals can get nonperishable canned goods, pb and jelly, dry foods like rice, pasta and beans.
Anyone can use their services to help get through a temporary rough patch. No registration necessary no questions asked.
We were told Fall before we’d see relief and we’re still in summer. I doubt that applies to blue states though!
Saw a similar circumstance a while ago with a twist at a large chain grocery store. Obvious invaders and welfare queens using EBT cards with shopping carts packed with higher priced items in every checkout line. Very few normal people with food necessities paying with cash or bank cards. Infuriating!
Along the same lines, surely there were alot of political grifters going to Europe too (along with the illegal aliens worming their way into the welfare system).
Still the same conclusion:
“This is not the kind of America we want.”
This was not a statement from this press briefing, was it? I missed it if it was.
(High Prices, Zero Quality, Zero Service) – what is that?
All the telltale signs of Monopoly is what that is!
They’re trying to fight President Trump with continued Monopoly pricing:
Keep fighting inflation, #1 Only buy what you need! #2 Look around and be creative (look at what you’ve already got). Know that there’s a 99% chance you’ll be disappointed with the corporate Chinese garbage they’re trying to pawn-off at Wal-Mart, Costco, and the whole conga-line of other traitorous distributors (run by ass-holes from the north-east-corridor). #3 Do what’s right! Get your money back. I know that can be difficult with shipping expenses and fuel prices but try – it’s your public duty. Don’t just throw it in a donation pile – that’s how they win. #4 Go step by step, don’t be impatient, don’t ever get ahead of yourself by wishing in more items and compounding the problem (this is where I believe the merchandizing crisis in the United States is also a phycological-operation by the Chinese), get-by until you can get your hands on the right item that you need – half the time you’ll discover a better way by doing this and won’t have to make the purchase at all.
From what I have observed, far too many U.S. citizens are too uninformed and/or too impatient and/or too afraid of conflict to aggressively & doggedly pursue sellers of substandard quality products in order to get prematurely failed items repaired, replaced or refunded.
Consumer products are being made in China and other SE Asian nations with cheap, frequently unsafe, low tolerance components (mechanical and electronic) that are in fact deliberately used to create maximum profits, “planned obsolescence” and increased sales volumes. Too many of us play right into their hands.
Buy quality…save for it..buy less but much better.
Exactly. It’s what our parents and grandparents did out of common sense.
The Product testing and review industry was spawned and grew largely because of consumer demand for it. Of course some or much of it became corrupted by bribery from wealthy corporations but the Internet came along fortuitously to give ordinary citizens a medium in which to voice their experiences.
Still, even the Internet must be read with a degree of circumspection. We know it’s easy to post lies. So website credibility is importantly.
And of course the government became involved which at first lent a high degree of objectivity to testing and reporting but then gradually became as corrupted as ever via bribery.
What a pleasure it is to have a team of competent and decent people. What a different an election makes.
MAGA!
Point taken, and is true. Another view, President Trump is just one man. It is up to us, the legal citizens to continue, or begin to do our own due diligence. It lies on our own shoulders to carry his successes forward. To hold accountable all those in the future.
Smart guy
Remember what happened last time when a trade deal was nearly cemented with our far east friends? It was a viral salvo in the continuing asymmetric global war against our very sane PDJT.
Let’s hope we don’t have another “naturally occurring” virus outbreak or some other plausibly deniable world calamity.
Heads are going to roll if that sh!t happens again.
I think it would make it hard to have plausible deniability at this point.
The administration’s murderers’ row of economics, in action.
looks like they are using this time mainly to weaken China (strengthen us) via trade negotiations with appropriate countries.
and could care less what comes of these negotiations until as you pointed out (later, as in now or coming soon)
It does seem that China could become diminished for trade if we get what we need / want from others prior to a deal with them. But who knows, maybe they cannot offer what other nations offer?
Let them pay some YUGE tariffs for a few months while we make more trade deals elsewhere and the Christmas season looms. Strike a deal before Black Friday maybe. Maybe after.
China doesn’t pay the tariff.
It’s the American companies that import the goods from China that have to pay the tariff. The hope is that Chinese manufacturers will lower the price of their products by an amount close to the tariff in order to maintain market share. That strategy works best for lower tariffs like 10% or maybe 15% but beyond that rate I’m not so sure, MR. Time will tell!
It works with higher tariffs too. Countries just subsidize their export industries.
I guess you haven’t been paying attention. That’s true that technically China doesn’t pay it. But in reality, they do. Several things happen, especially with china, they manipulate their currency (make it weaker, worth less to the dollar) to make that product the same price to import—even with the tariff.
Second, since it is primarily a nationalistic controlled economy, they can also absorb the cost through production, lower their profit margin.
Third, other countries, not as communistic as china, can also subsidize those companies with tax breaks and incentives—effectively lowering the price.
Fourth, depending on the product, companies like Nike and Apple, that use basically slave labor (I know, controversial term and I can go on about this) pay cents on the dollar for the product to be produced. So they just absorb the cost as well.
For instance, say Nike shoes cost $5 (on the high end, probably way less) and the shoe sells for $60 (on the low end—many sell for $100) a tariff of 100% (usually much lower, but easy for math here) would $5 additional (not $60). The tariff is on the IMPORT price, not the sales price. So Nike would effectively be paying $10 for the shoe and still sell it for the $60.
Same goes with Apple where a high end phone may cost $100 to make and sells for $1000.
Last, when Trump did this in the first term, this was proven out—products did dramatically cost more.
finally, there ARE some tariffs 47 will put on where this isn’t true and the cost may be passed along. The goal generally with those, is to make effectively to expensive to sell the product here and to put pressure on the country to acquiesce in some fashion.
Spot On Comments SpurrierFan
To tack on to your comment #4, Apple knows that sales for the latest and greatest iPhone diminish at the $1K breakpoint, as does Nike at $100.
Jamieson Greer was Ambassador Lighthizer’s assistant in the first Trump Administration.
UVA Law, LDS, a great man you can trust is representing the USA at the highest levels of competency. I was fortunate to hear him speak earlier this year in DC.
China created global manufacturing demand through cheap labor, but that labor doesn’t generate meaningful consumer demand. It fuels production, not sales. Cut off access to Chinese labor and manufacturing costs rise—but the global market to sell into still exists.
The U.S., by contrast, is the buyers’ market. American consumers are the demand. Trump used that leverage by treating access to U.S. buyers as a toll road. He imposed tariffs on China, then signed deals with countries like Japan, Mexico, and South Korea—offering better terms to nations that weren’t acting as conduits for Chinese goods.
Canada hasn’t reached a deal. Its economy has leaned into being an assembly and re-export hub for China, which undermines U.S. efforts. All of Trump’s deals are designed to isolate China until it agrees to open its domestic market without restrictions. The strategy makes clear: you want access to U.S. consumers, you either move production or play by new rules.
Just want to point out saying one will do something in the future is very different than actually doing it. Agreements, if you can call them that, generates a bunch of headlines, but nothing has actually been delivered.
There seems to be all kinds of talk about frameworks, agreements, deals, outlines, plans, commitments and/or new rules……….but these are all in some future………most beyond the next presidential election.
Is this all great PR theatre? Is Trump a showman? Do politicians of all stripes lie?
Will the lefty, entitled EU really carryout economic suicide for Trump?
Call me skeptical, but there seems to be a bunch of smoke and mirrors in these ‘deals’.
You don’t think things have been delivered? While I agree with you to a point, and yes, in the past that has happened, to a point—particularly with China, don’t you think that with 3.5 years left there’s enough time and leverage? If you think not, you are mistaken—IMHO.
This is a FAR different administration. They are doing things at the speed of light. Either progress is made (yes, something’s take longer than others, especially building plants—but that’s why he’ll get permits fast-tracked, so no excuses and playing out the clock), or economic pressure will be applied, typically through tariffs again.
as I stated below, the goal is NOT economic suicide for any country. The US can still ruin any country economically, at will. But, that is NOT the goal. It’s to show them it’s in THEIR best interest to be fair in trade and open their economy to us, yet them have a stable country and economy.
Believing fantastic fiction does not translate into a new reality.
We live in an electronic instantaneous medium (this site included) where no exaggeration, lie, or absurdity is too great, so long as it can be quickly flushed away by an even greater one.
Just keep believing and refresh your screen.
Incrementally, the reality is that the new ‘flashy’ boss’s fiction is no different than the old boss’s. War, money printing, debt, and scandals continue, unabated.
This administration jumps from one illusory win to a bigger illusory win every day. In reality, the never ending money printing keeps the hopes, dreams and illusions alive.
The Financial Times has a write up on the EU negotiations.
The article is good but the pic of Stephen Miler, Jamieson Greer and Howard Lutnick is priceless.
The expression on Miller’s face is not one I would like to see while conducting negotiations.
https://archive.is/DYG1k
If for some reason there is a paywall, I was able to see it via CFP without one.
Incredible.
My reading of SD is that Ambassador Greer was a lackey, but in every press gaggle he has stepped up his game.
Quite impressive.
MAGA Wonderful!
👊👊🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻
What a fantastic team that President Trump 2.0 has put together.
President Trump should not travel to China and have discussions with Chairman Xi. Xi is losing his grip on the CCP leadership and should not be given any more international stature. Our policy is to take down the CCP without a military conflict.
With all the factories shutting down in China, the housing boom is causing the Chinese people to lose their savings. China is in a dire financial situation. China has been exporting disease, drugs, and stealing our technology for too long. It is time for the CCP to reap some payback.
So do you think that China and its communist party will become less aggressive if they feel they are being “taken down.” 47 could ruin their economy in an instant—but until we reshore, it could create pain here as well. Though, through history, we have shown we can change manufacturing miraculously fast. Can we still do it? Are some of these multinationals willing to do it? Will they be nationalists?
US at this time, still has the capability to wreck any particular country’s economy. But, that’s NOT the goal. Stable and FAIR trade is the goal. It helps each country and the world.
Like the information though Greer seemed down.
China keeps on side-stepping tariffs.
President Trump needs to just give them their tariff rate and be done with it
The CCP will continue to string the US along…because they’re COMMIES!
Secretary Bessent needs to stick to the money part and stay away from the geopolitical situation; i.e., Bessent’s comment about Finland and the other country he mentioned being NATO members now
This beginning is great. All the deals seem clear cut and fair and made for the benifit of working America. But starting next presidency special back-room deals are going to be made and all of Trumps maga goals will be undermined by sweetheart deals that line the elites pockets. The tarrifs have great potential to fall apart with the first unscrupulous dealer.
Sanctions on countries that buy Russia oil may not work out. USA is the aggressor, NATO pushing toward the Russian border has been explained for decades by Russia as an existential threat to them. President Trump and team think they can submit Russia and make them roll over like a good dog. What are the odds? The USA tried this path in the past, and it led to war, a war they eventually won, but it was a war without nuclear weapons. U.S. actions contributed to Japan’s decision to attack Pearl Harbor. Japan’s expansionist policies in Asia, particularly its invasion of French Indochina, led to U.S. economic sanctions, including an oil embargo, which significantly impacted Japan’s ability to sustain its military and economy. This, combined with Japan’s belief that the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor would hinder their planned conquests in Southeast Asia, ultimately led them to launch a preemptive strike.
Reading betw the lines of SCMP posters shows the air of anxiety and pessimism thick across Chinese cities.
Chairman Xi must confront serious problems sprung from his state interventionist economic policy that he favors.
Chairman Xi has to provide jobs for his 730 million workers; mostly young people who do not want to return to subsistence farming n will die to protect their current life style of iPhones, car n internet.
Chairman Xi is walking on hot coals to prevent multiple 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacres, not because of concern for his people but because protests and massacres are bad for business, especially bad for Chairman Xi political position.
China’s economy has been built on theft and dishonesty. Cut off the IP theft, forced tech transfers, and access to U.S. capital—and their model collapses.
That’s why Xi hasn’t responded positively to Trump’s tariffs. He knows Trump isn’t bargaining for fairer trade terms—he’s targeting the foundation of China’s economic power. Xi’s system doesn’t survive under fair trade rules. It only thrives on exploitation—and that’s what Trump is ending.
The EU has already put up roadblocks to Chairman Xi dumping product in Europe, PDJT has a tariff deal w Japan which has greatly increased their military security, but the US 7th Fleet is a comfort blanket for Japan. Japan consistently shows their displeasure w China n Chairman Xi in particular, therefore Japan has been one of USA’s best trade partners. Russia will gladly kick China to the roadside for lowering or removing US economic restrictions. Soon the largest Chinese trade partner will be the Brazilian lunatic Lula.
PDJT being a gracious man will allow Chairman Xi a face saving out. I believe PDJT enjoys his conflict with Chairman Xi but PDJT will cut off most of China’s safe economic havens n paths.
As Sundance says, PDJT knows the Panda mask is only a cover to the dragon beneath.
Keep up the good work!