U.S. clarifies 145% tariffs on China, keeps door open for talks

The tariff war between the U.S. and China seems far from over as the White House confirmed the tariff on Chinese imports now stands at 145 percent instead of the previous 125.

Our Park Kun-woo leads us this morning.

The White House said Thursday that imports from China now face a retaliatory 145 percent tariff.

According to officials, an existing 20 percent levy will be added to the 125 percent tariff, announced the day before.

That tariff was imposed by Donald Trump in February in response to China's role in supplying fentanyl and its precursors to the U.S.

However, Trump also said he remains open to talks with Beijing.

"I have great respect for President Xi. He's been, in a true sense, he's been a friend of mine for a long period of time and I think that we'll end up working out something that's very good for both countries."

On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on additional tariffs, keeping a 10 percent baseline tariff in place for trading countries except China.

The following day, he said what happens after that would depend on the situation at that time, but stressed that tariffs would return if no negotiations took place during the pause.

Also on Thursday, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said 15 countries had made "explicit offers" to lower tariffs, with some being considered and other deals close to being agreed.

"We're setting up a very orderly process to prioritize countries and make sure that the countries that are most important for getting this to the finish line are the countries that we bring in first."

He added that he expects a lot of movement on trade deals within the next three to four weeks.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.