Trump administration officials, anticipating supply chain strains due to steep tariffs on Chinese goods, have discussed forming a working group to deal with the problems with urgency if there’s no breakthrough with Beijing, multiple sources told CBS News.
Nothing has been finalized, but the working group would likely include Vice President J.D. Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, Council of Economic Advisers chairman Stephen Miran and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, sources said.
President Trump has said China has reached out to negotiate a deal.
Another official said the administration has already been working on supply chain issues for some time in anticipation of the imposition of the tariffs.
Medicines, semiconductors, electronic devices and critical minerals could face supply pressure after the White House and Beijing imposed a series of retaliatory tariffs.
Mr. Trump pushed tariffs on imports from China to a combined 145%, and Beijing escalated with retaliatory tariffs on American goods. The China levies are part of a larger tariff regime that Trump unleashed on dozens of countries — though some of the non-China tariffs were partially paused last week while Mr. Trump seeks to negotiate deals with U.S. trading partners. The trade war has alarmed investors, and stoked fears about inflation and an economic slowdown.