It would be a grievous error to grant China any U.S. tariff relief in advance of a broader trade deal. Doing so would cultivate Chinese perceptions of U.S. negotiating weakness and thus deter Beijing from making significant concessions on the trade issues that matter most.

Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is considering doing just that. According to the Journal, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is leading the chorus in favor of early U.S. concessions.