China and the U.S. have agreed to pause their reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with both sides bringing their rates down by 115 percent, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said following talks in Switzerland.
This takes the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by President Donald Trump down to 30 percent, and those imposed on U.S. goods by Beijing to 10 percent. They will continue negotiations during the pause.
“We had very robust discussions, both sides showed great respect,” Bessent said at a briefing on Monday morning after the weekend’s high-level meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng.
It is a major step towards resolving the trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies, one that deeply unsettled global markets and raised fears of a recession.
“We concluded that we have shared interests and we both have an interest in balanced trade. The U.S. will continue moving towards that,” Bessent said.
The U.S. tariff on Chinese imports reflects a 10 percent baseline and a 20 percent tariff related to China’s role in the fentanyl trade.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who joined Bessent in the talks, said other pre-existing tariffs remain in place. He also said China had removed its retaliatory countermeasures against the U.S.
Greer said the U.S. and China had agreed to work together on tackling fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid that is a leading cause of drug deaths in the U.S.
This is a breaking news story and more information will be added soon.
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