Can Trump call off his trade war with China while pretending he’s not?
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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump and his administration have spent much of the past two days signaling a desire to deescalate the trade war with China that they started.
But every time investors get excited a breakthrough might be imminent, Trump officials have thrown some cold water on their enthusiasm — likely because they’re afraid of looking like they’re climbing down.
What did they say, exactly? On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors at a closed-door event that the current status quo of 145 percent tariffs on China is “unsustainable.” He added: “I would posit that over the very near future, there will be a deescalation.”
Later that day, Trump signaled he agreed.........
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