The United States and China said Monday they reached an agreement to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other in an attempt to defuse the trade war threatening the world’s two largest economies.
In a joint statement, the countries said they would suspend their respective tariffs for 90 days while they negotiate. Under the agreement, the United States would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 per cent from its current 145 per cent, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 per cent from 125 per cent.
“We concluded that we have a shared interest,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a news conference in Geneva where U.S. and Chinese officials met over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling,” he said.
According to BusinessDay, the agreement breaks an impasse that had brought trade between China and the United States to a halt. Many American businesses had suspended orders, holding out hope that the two countries could strike a deal to bring down the tariff rates.
While the Trump administration had declared on Sunday that it reached a “deal” with China after trade talks, the details of that agreement were not announced until Monday. Chinese officials also had said the talks, over weekend meetings, achieved substantial progress.