#TradeWarEases
China and the United States agree to reduce tariffs for 90 days during negotiations.
The agreement reduces tensions in the trade war but does little to change the overall direction of deteriorating relations between Beijing and Washington, analysts say.
May 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM EDT
Today at 3:37 AM EDT
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Vendors wait for customers in the Christmas tree shop at the Yiwu International Market in eastern China last month, as tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump took effect. The talks held in Geneva this weekend aimed to ease tensions in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. (Ng Han Guan/AP)
China and the United States have agreed to reduce tariffs on goods from each other for 90 days, providing a temporary respite in a trade war that threatens to trigger a global recession and deepen the growing rift between the world's two largest economies.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday at a press conference in Geneva that U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would be reduced from 145 percent to 30 percent. China announced it would reduce its overall tariffs from 125 percent to 10 percent, starting Wednesday.
In a succinct joint statement following the weekend talks, both sides committed to these measures as discussions continued in a "spirit of mutual openness, continuous communication, cooperation, and mutual respect."
