The United States and China have agreed to temporarily reduce the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" between the two countries for 90 days.
U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will drop from 145% to 30%. China's rates on American products will be reduced from 125% to 10%.
Representatives from the two powers met this weekend in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss import rates and jointly announced the agreement early Monday morning (12).
They said that the reduction in tariffs will take effect by Wednesday (14), but did not disclose the exact date.
"The consensus of the delegations this weekend is that neither side desires a decoupling," Bessent continued. "And what had happened with these extremely high tariffs was equivalent to an embargo, and neither side wants that. We want trade."
Bessent explained, however, that the agreement does not include specific tariffs for each sector and that the U.S. will continue the "strategic rebalancing" in areas such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and steel, where vulnerabilities in the supply chain have been identified.
He added that he believes U.S. and Chinese negotiators will meet again in the coming weeks to discuss a more detailed trade agreement, but he did not clarify when this will occur.
In a morning press conference, Trump stated that he does not expect U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports to return to 145% after the end of the 90-day pause, and that he believes Washington and Beijing will reach a definitive agreement.
The Republican also stated that China has already agreed to open the market to the U.S., but that this "will take time to be formalized".
Trump also highlighted that, in addition to the tariff agreements already made with China and the United Kingdom, many more "are on the way".