(NewsNation) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. has reached a trade deal with China.
“Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President XI and me,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
In his opening statements, Bessent said that China has “a singular opportunity” to stabilize its economy by shifting away from excess production towards greater consumption, but needs to be a reliable partner in trade negotiations with the US.
“If China will course-correct by upholding its end of the initial trade agreement we outlined in Geneva last month, then a big, beautiful rebalancing of the world’s two largest economies is possible,” he told lawmakers.
Bessent also credited the Trump administration for slowing inflation, following the Labor Department’s release of May’s Consumer Price Index report Wednesday. The report showed inflation picked up as food costs rose.
“Substantial non-inflationary growth was created,” Bessent said. “We believe that this will happen again.”
Consumer prices increased 2.4% last month compared to a year ago, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April.
Later, Bessent said trade partners are approaching the U.S. with “unimaginably good trade deals” that include steps to reduce non-tariff barriers; measures he noted can be just as harmful as tariffs.
US will allow Chinese students to attend American colleges, universities
Trump said China would provide the U.S. with magnets and rare earth minerals “up front,” while the United States has agreed to allow Chinese students to attend U.S. colleges and universities.
The announcement comes as Trump had recently begun cracking down on the presence of Chinese nationals on U.S college campuses, though he said Wednesday that this has “always been good with me.”
Tariffs on Chinese goods will total 55%
Trump said tariffs on Chinese goods will move to 55%, which would mark an increase from the 30% levy set in Switzerland during talks in May. China will impose a 10% tariff on U.S. goods.
“WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!” Trump wrote.
Tariff negotiations between the two nations had stalled in recent weeks after officials agreed last month for the U.S. to lower its tariff rate on imports from China from 145% to 30%. Beijing also reduced its rate on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators announced late Tuesday in London that they had agreed on a framework to get their trade negotiations back on track after a series of disputes that threatened to derail them.
The announcement came at the end of two days of talks in the British capital that wrapped up late Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.