The United States and China on Monday took a step to defuse the trade war threatening the world’s two largest economies, agreeing to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other.
The move by the United States, after President Trump had repeatedly declared that he would not lower tariffs without concessions from China, represented an acknowledgment of the costs of an all-out trade war with China. Despite the White House’s bluster, the Trump administration ultimately backed off, for now, from the steepest tariffs, and agreed to hold more formal talks with Beijing after companies and consumers started showing signs of economic strain.
“We’re not looking to hurt China,” Mr. Trump said at the White House on Monday.
Explaining that many of the tariffs that he imposed remain in place, Mr. Trump said that talks would be focused in part on “opening up” China to American businesses. He said that he expected to talk to President Xi Jinping of China later this week, but that putting a full deal on paper would take a while.
In a joint statement released earlier in the day, the United States and China said they would suspend their respective tariffs for 90 days and continue negotiations they started this weekend. Under the agreement, the U.S. would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from its current 145 percent, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent.
The outcome of the frenzied weekend of negotiations in Switzerland brought tariff rates close to where they were before Mr. Trump ratcheted them higher on April 2, which he billed as “Liberation Day.” However, the talks did not appear to yield any meaningful concessions beyond an agreement to continue discussions.
“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.
The Tit-for-Tat Tariffs
Between the U.S. and China
President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese
goods multiple times this year before
lowering the rates temporarily while
the two sides negotiate.
25% on steel
and aluminum
China retaliated against the tariffs with equivalent levies but has also agreed to a pause during ongoing talks.
10% on U.S. food and agricultural products
10% on natural gas, coal and farm machinery
The Tit-for-Tat Tariffs
Between the U.S. and China
President Trump raised
tariffs on Chinese goods
multiple times this year
before lowering the rates
temporarily while the
two sides negotiate.
25% on steel
and aluminum
China retaliated against
the tariffs with equivalent
levies but has also agreed
to a pause during
ongoing talks.
10% on U.S. food and agricultural products
10% on natural
gas, coal and farm machinery
Sources: White House, China’s Ministry of Finance
By Agnes Chang and Pablo Robles
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