Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied a Wall Street Journal report that the White House is considering unilaterally slashing tariffs on Chinese imports, saying that both sides need to mutually take down tariff levels before trade talks can begin.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that high tariffs between the United States and China are not sustainable, as President Donald Trump's administration signaled openness to de-escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies that has raised fears of recession.

The president appears to be pulling punches on the triple-digit tariffs he announced earlier this month, saying the duty rate will "come down substantially."