President Donald Trump said his team is discussing 10% tariffs on China and that the duties could go into effect as early as Feb. 1.

"We're talking about a 10% tariff on China based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," the president said, speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday evening.

"Maybe February 1st is the date we're looking at," he added.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is an addictive drug that has caused tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the U.S. Reducing the supply of the illicit drug, whose precursors are largely produced in China and Mexico, has been an area where Washington and Beijing have agreed to work together.

Trump said Friday that he spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping about fentanyl and trade. A Chinese statement said Xi called for cooperation and called the two countries' economic relationship mutually beneficial.

"There are no winners" in a trade war, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, according to an official translation. He called for international efforts to support "economic globalization" and "better distribute it."

The offshore Chinese yuan initially strengthened, before weakening to trade at 7.2796 to the U.S. dollar.

China's main state and financial media made no mention of China's proposed tariffs, while highlighting other Trump headlines such as his warning about tariffs on the European Union.

The U.S. is China's largest trading partner on a single country basis. China's imports from the U.S. fell 0.1% in dollar terms last year, while exports grew 4.9%, according to official data accessed by Wind Information.

The data showed China's trade surplus with the U.S. in 2024 was $361 million, up from the $316.9 million reported in 2020, the final year of Trump's first term. At the time, the White House had raised tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to boost imports of U.S. goods into the country, addressing long-standing concerns of U.S. businesses in China. Beijing has responded with its own tariffs. (AL)

Source: CNBC