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Trump "threw out there" the 80% figure, White House says

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Top US and Chinese officials meet Saturday in Geneva

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Meeting looks 'very promising,' Trump adviser Hassett says

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Unclear how 80% US tariff, instead of 145% levy, will be

received by China

(Adds White House paragraphs 4-5)

By Doina Chiacu

May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on

Friday an 80% tariff on Chinese goods "seems right," for the

first time suggesting a specific alternative to the 145% levies

he has imposed on Chinese imports ahead of closely watched

weekend talks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade

negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese economic tsar He

Lifeng in Switzerland for talks aimed at containing a trade war

between the world's two biggest economies.

It could be the first step toward resolving a damaging trade

conflict that has already entangled global supply chains.

Asked how the U.S. president came to the 80% figure, White

House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, "That was a number the

president threw out there, and we'll see what happens this

weekend."

Trump will not unilaterally bring down tariffs on China,

however, she stressed. "We need to see concessions from them as

well."

China is also sending a top public-security official to

the talks in Geneva, a source familiar with the plans said. The

development, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is an

indication of the importance of the issue of fentanyl

trafficking to the talks and the wider U.S.-China relationship.

Trump has linked the two issues, using the fentanyl scourge

as the rationale for the initial imposition of punitive import

taxes on goods from China, Canada and Mexico earlier this year.

China's embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to

a request for comment.

"China should open up its market to USA - would be so good

for them!!! Closed markets don't work anymore!!!" Trump wrote in

an all-caps social media post. "80% tariff on China seems right.

Up to Scott B.," he added moments later.

China's foreign ministry has decried what it calls abusive

and bullying economic tactics, and said that China remains

firmly opposed to what it calls an unsustainable approach to

trade by the U.S.

While Trump has indicated on several recent occasions that

he expects the punitive tariff rates he has imposed on China to

come down, he had not until now floated a potential figure for

where they might fall to.

Even though 80% is just around half the current rate, it

remains extraordinarily high and is above even the hefty 60%

rate that Trump had said he would impose during his campaign for

president last year. It was not clear how well it would be

received by China amid what Bessent has already cast as an

effective trade embargo between the two countries.

What level tariff rates settle at - and not just for China

- has been a central focus for investors rattled by months of

financial market volatility arising from the chaotic rollout of

Trump's aggressive trade policies.

STOCKS SLIP AFTER TRUMP REMARKS

U.S. stocks, which have recouped a significant chunk of

their losses since mid-February's record high, were modestly

lower on Friday after Trump's social media post. The dollar was

weaker against a basket of major trading partners' currencies.

Since taking office in January, Trump has hiked the tariffs

paid by U.S. importers for goods from China to 145%, in addition

to those he imposed on many Chinese goods during his first term

and the duties levied by the Biden administration.

China hit back by imposing export curbs on some rare earth

elements, vital for U.S. manufacturers of weapons and electronic

consumer goods, and raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. It

also imposed extra levies on some products including soybeans

and liquefied natural gas.

The weekend talks in Geneva have been described by Trump

administration officials as a step towards de-escalating

tensions with China. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett,

director of the National Economic Council, said the meeting

seemed "very promising" to U.S. officials.

"We're seeing extreme respect, treating both sides with

respect," Hassett said in an interview with CNBC. "We're seeing

collegiality and also sketches of positive developments."

Trump's push on tariffs is widely seen to be elevating risks

to the U.S. economy, with concerns that they will lift prices

for American consumers and businesses and rekindle inflation

while at the same time cutting into the demand that has so far

propped up the job market.

Indeed, Trump is already facing dropping approval ratings

over his handling of trade as Americans brace to pay more for

clothes, electronics, toys and countless other goods that emerge

from Chinese factories.

China's government is seeking to mitigate closures,

bankruptcies and job losses at manufacturers who are struggling

to find viable alternatives to the U.S. market.

Representing the meeting's host, Swiss Vice President Guy

Parmelin, who also serves as economic minister, emerged from

separate bilateral meetings in Geneva with the U.S. and Chinese

delegations with optimistic words for reporters.

"It's already a success," Parmelin said. "The two sides are

talking ... If a road map can emerge and they decide to continue

discussions, that will lower the tensions."

"We could imagine everything - we could imagine a mutual

suspension of customs duties during the course of the

discussions," Parmelin added, noting they could extend into

Sunday or even Monday. "That's up to the parties."