TrumpMarkets
|4 min ReadTrump And Xi Seek Tariff Truce In Seoul
Tariq Al-Saidi
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
Markets just got the meeting they were waiting for. United States President Donald Trump sat down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Seoul to cool a tariff fight that has hammered global risk assets, including crypto. The goal is simple. Stop the spiral before it breaks something important.
Before they met, Trump sounded upbeat. He said the two sides were “showing signs of alignment,” and added, “We’ve already agreed to a lot of things and we will agree to some more right now.” Afterward, he said the relationship could be “fantastic” for a long time. The Rapid Response 47 account confirmed the meeting wrapped, signaling at least a temporary pause in the rhetoric.
This is not just about headlines. Tariffs and countermeasures have weighed on growth, confidence, and trading desks for months. Some of the sharpest measures lined up almost perfectly with crypto drawdowns. On October 10, Bitcoin fell from 121,560 dollars to below 103,000 dollars after a fresh tariff shock. Those are not abstract numbers. Traders felt the hit in real time.
Tariff Shock, Sentiment, And The Crypto Tape
The pattern has been clear. New tariff threats land. Risk assets sell off. Crypto often moves first and hardest.
Higher import taxes raise costs, squeeze margins, and darken the outlook for trade-dependent sectors. When that happens, liquidity in speculative assets dries up. Funds sell what they can, not just what they want. Bitcoin’s October slide from 121,560 dollars to under 103,000 dollars showed how quickly leverage can unwind when macro stress spikes.
Now, signals coming out of Seoul suggest a pause. United States officials say Trump does not plan to push through an extra 100 percent import tax on Chinese goods. That is a big tell. Beijing, for its part, is expected to ease export controls on rare earths and may step up United States soybean purchases. These are confidence moves, designed to calm supply chains and cool the daily drama.
Mainstream reports say neither Washington nor Beijing wants to destabilize the global economy. That line matters. It gives markets something to anchor to. If both sides follow through, volatility can turn into visibility. Markets love visibility. Crypto does too. Fewer policy shocks mean fewer forced liquidations and a smoother path for capital to come back into play.
Miners, AI, And The Cost Of Hardware
Behind the big headlines, the tariff fight hits very specific parts of the digital asset stack.
Trump also met leaders across Asia, including officials from Malaysia. Malaysia is a key manufacturing and export hub for Bitcoin mining equipment headed to the United States. Right now, Washington imposes a 19 percent tariff on Malaysian exports. That cost lands straight on miners that rely on Southeast Asian gear.
When hardware gets hit with extra tax, mining economics suffer. Margins compress. Upgrades slow. Some expansion plans are shelved. A softer tariff stance would not just please diplomats. It would directly relieve pressure on miners planning their next cycle of investment.
Rare earths are another pressure point. China’s export limits have raised red flags for both AI and mining. Advanced chips, data centers, and high-end rigs all depend on stable materials and components. When that supply looks shaky, so do roadmaps for big compute projects.
The Seoul meeting is meant to smooth these edges. If the White House steps back from the 100 percent threat and Beijing relaxes some controls, miners and AI builders get breathing room. Capex decisions become easier. Financing terms improve. Execution risk falls a notch.
What A Tariff Truce Could Mean For Crypto
At its core, this negotiation is about power, prices, and trust. Tariffs are a blunt tool. They hurt confidence even when they are aimed at strategic rivals. Markets can handle bad news. What they hate is random policy punches to the face.
The moment both sides stop escalating, capital starts to thaw. For Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, that would mean fewer macro land mines on each headline and more room for normal trend behavior to reassert itself.
Less tariff noise can translate into:
Tighter spreads instead of panic gaps.
Less forced selling from funds managing cross-asset risk.
More willingness to hold risk into events instead of cutting early.
If Trump and Xi manage to turn this meeting into a real off ramp, it does not guarantee a bull market. But it does remove one heavy macro overhang from the tape. That alone can be tremendous for a space where sentiment and liquidity move faster than almost anywhere else.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.