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President Donald Trump signaled on Wednesday that he expects to lower fentanyl-linked tariffs on China, a potential major concession ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea this week. Fentanyl Flow And Farmers On Agenda For Trump-Xi Meet Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump confirmed that fentanyl flows into the U.S. and “farmers” will be among the key topics he plans to discuss with Xi on Thursday, reported CNBC. The meeting, the first in-person discussion since Trump returned to office, comes as a fragile trade detente between the two economic superpowers nears its Nov. 10 expiration. Trump’s comments follow a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday indicating the U.S. was considering cutting the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese exports by half. The report suggested this reduction to 10% would be in exchange for a significant crackdown by Beijing on the export of chemicals used to produce the deadly opioid. See Also: Trump-Xi Jinping Set To Finalize Deal As US-China Deescalate Trade Tensions — Dow Futures Surge 242 Points Nvidia’s Blackwell Chips Can Be Discussed Between The Leaders The president also indicated that sensitive U.S. technology exports, specifically Nvidia Corp.'s (NASDAQ:NVDA) advanced Blackwell AI chips, might be part of the negotiations. “I think we may be talking about that with President Xi,” Trump said. The leaders are meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks, with China restricting rare earth exports and the U.S. threatening retaliatory port fees and new 100% tariffs starting Nov. 1. Despite the tensions, Trump expressed optimism at the APEC summit on Wednesday, stating he hoped to reach an agreement with Xi that would be “a good deal for both.” S&P 500 Rallies Amid Improving US-China Tension, Rate Cut Expectation Amid widespread expectations of a positive U.S.-China meeting and a 25-basis-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, the S&P 500 index rallied to a new 52-week high. The index surpassed the 6,900 mark during Tuesday’s trading, reaching an intraday peak of 6,911.30. This rally extends the S&P 500’s year-to-date gains to 17.42%, outpacing the Dow Jones at 12.54% gain but behind the Nasdaq 100, which has surged 24.01% this year. On Wednesday, the futures of the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 indices were mixed. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the S&P 500 index ended 0.23% higher at 6,890.89, whereas the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.74% to 26,012.16. On the other hand, Dow Jones advanced 0.34% to end at 47,706.37. Read Next: Cramer Warns We’re ‘Flying Blind’ On Nvidia In China — While Wall Street Rides The Reopening Trade Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo: IAB Studio on Shutterstock.com
