Stock markets were flat Friday as investors await the start of highly anticipated trade talks between the U.S. and China this weekend. The S&P 500 dropped 0.07%, the Nasdaq was flat, and the Dow Jones slid 0.3%. Markets closed the week stagnant, dipping Monday before regaining losses later in the week.
“I look forward to productive talks as we work towards rebalancing the international economic system towards better serving the interests of the United States,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday when he announced that he would travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with his Chinese counterparts.
Ahead of Bessent’s meeting, President Donald Trump weighed in Friday on what he thought would be a fair tax on Chinese exports to the U.S. “80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.,” he posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
That would be a reduction of the current 145% tariff rate on China that Trump imposed in April but still a high tax on one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. The People’s Republic has retaliated against the U.S. with as much as a 125% tax on U.S. exports, and the tit-for-tat trade war has already impacted world trade.
China said Friday that exports to the U.S. fell 21% year-over-year in April, and U.S. ports are reporting plummeting activity. The Port of Portland in Oregon, for example, saw a 50% drop in exports since “Liberation Day” on April 2, when Trump first unveiled his suite of historically high tariffs.
Still, the President has said his administration is making progress on trade deals. On Thursday, he unveiled a trade framework with the United Kingdom. The deal allows the U.K. to ship 100,000 cars a year to the U.S. at a 10% tariff, with anything above that incurring a 25% tax. And steel and aluminum can enter the U.S. tariff free. Tim Meyer, a trade law professor at Duke University, told Bloomberg the trade deal was a “nothingburger.” Detroit’s automakers, including General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, criticized the White House for the deal however, claiming it prioritized the U.K over Mexico and Canada.
“Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday.
Friday’s stagnant markets put an end to a market resurgence that buoyed stocks in early May. While Trump’s initial tariffs plans caused markets to tank after he flashed a cardboard poster outlining taxes imposed on dozens of countries, markets have since rebounded to pre-”Liberation Day” levels.
