'It's Trump who blinked': Former treasury secretary rips president over China negotiations

Former Treasury Secretary and economic analyst Lawrence Summers has said that President Donald Trump "blinked" during the United States' recent negotiations with China, in which both countries agreed to temporarily slash tariffs on each other.

"I think it's very clear that it's President Trump who blinked. We had said that we were determined to impose these policies for an indefinite period. China didn't make any consequential or significant change in its policies," Summers, who served in former President Bill Clinton's Cabinet, told CNN's Kasie Hunt on her show Monday.

"Now, look, sometimes it's good to blink when you make a mistake. It's usually best to correct it and retreat, even if it's a little bit embarrassing," he said, adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent deserves credit "for his leadership."

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However, the former secretary said the Trump administration has been acting "like we have all the leverage in the world."

"The truth is, we've issued so much debt that others have leverage over us as well," he added.

In response to Hunt's question about a potential recession in the U.S., Summers said the administration is "showing itself to be less committed to disastrous policies than I had feared they would be."

"They are reading the response in economic forecasts. They are reading the response in markets, and they are adjusting by retreating," he said, adding that the chances of recession are "of a close to 50 over 50, but perhaps a little bit on the south side of 50/50."

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"Again, that is largely a reflection of the fact that the the administration appears to be turning the wheel rather than driving the vehicle over a cliff," he argued.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. and China took a preliminary step toward easing the trade tensions between the world's two largest economies by agreeing to temporarily lower the heavy tariffs they had each imposed on the other.

This action by the U.S., despite Trump’s previous statements that he would not reduce tariffs without concessions from China, signified an acknowledgment of the negative impact of a full-scale trade war with Beijing.

The White House has agreed to engage in more formal negotiations with China as companies and consumers began to experience economic difficulties.

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