President Trump considers reducing the tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to de-escalate the trade war.
What he's considering right now is a small positive sign for de-escalation,
but it doesn't fundamentally change the overall dynamics with China.
But it's a move, and now the ball is in China's court.
Plus, why even a trade war U-turn might not restore confidence in U.S. assets for foreign investors.
And President Trump blames Ukrainian President Zelensky for failing to accept a U.S. peace plan.
It's Wednesday, April 23rd.
I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal.
This is the PM edition of What's News,
the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
We're exclusively reporting that the Trump administration is considering slashing its steep tariffs on Chinese imports in a bid to de-escalate tensions with Beijing.
That's according to people familiar with the matter.
A White House spokesman said that tariff decisions will come directly from the president and that anything else is speculation.
Later in the day,
Bloomberg News reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told reporters that Trump hasn't offered to take down U.S. tariffs on China on a unilateral basis.
For more, I'm joined by WSJ chief China correspondent Lingling Wei.
Lingling, you write that President Trump hasn't made up his mind fully about this yet,
but what are some of the plans floating around?
For now, nothing has been decided.
The administration officials have told us that whatever action the Trump administration takes wouldn't be unilateral.