US-China Trade Deal: Tariffs Temporarily Cut As Talks Narrow Differences

The United States and China have agreed to a 90-day cut in reciprocal tariffs levied on an array of traded goods after weekend talks in Switzerland made progress in narrowing differences between the two countries.

The weekend meetings were the first time senior US and Chinese economic officials had met face-to-face since US President Donald Trump came back to the White House and launched a raft of tariffs on countries around the world last month, with particularly hefty duties imposed on China.

Trump has embarked on a new trade policy that he says is aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing.

The higher import tax rates on dozens of countries and territories included a massive 104 percent duty on Chinese goods. That launched a tariff war with both sides imposing reciprocal tariff rates that reached 145 percent on Chinese goods entering the United States and 125 percent on US goods entering China.

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Under the agreement, the United States will cut extra tariffs on Chinese imports to 30 percent, while Chinese duties on US imports will fall to 10 percent.

"Both countries represented their national interest very well," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on May 12 after the talks with Chinese officials in Geneva.

"We both have an interest in balanced trade, [and] the US will continue moving toward that."

The United States imported $439 billion worth of goods from China last year with smartphones, laptops, lithium-ion batteries, games, and toys among the top items by value. The United States exported $144 billion worth of goods to China, leading to a trade deficit of $295 billion.

Fears over economic fallout from the tariffs had led to stock market collapses around the world that were the worst since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.