Tariffs: US, China reach deal after trade talks

The United States and China have made progress in trade talks between the two countries in Switzerland.

US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent described the discussions as “productive and constructive,” while China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng said the talks were “in-depth” and “candid”.

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The White House called it a “trade deal” but gave no further details. A joint statement with full details is expected on Monday.

US and China engaged in secretive, closed-door discussions all weekend, in the first meeting since US President Donald Trump levied steep tariffs against China on its goods entering America in January.

The talks were the first face-to-face meetings between the two countries since President Trump imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, with Beijing responding with a 125% levy on some US goods.

The huge tariffs caused turmoil in the financial markets and sparked fears of a global recession.

Following the conclusion of the two-day talks in Geneva, US trade representative ambassador Jamieson Greer said “the deal we struck with our Chinese partners” would help reduce the US’s $1.2tn (£901bn) trade deficit.

Bessent said the US and China had made “substantial progress” on de-escalating the trade war, while Vice Premier He said the talks were “of great significance to the two countries but also have an important impact on the stability and development of the global economy”.

He said the two sides had reached a series of major consensuses and had also agreed to establish an economic and trade consultation mechanism.

Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong rose on Monday, while US stock markets are also expected to open higher when trading starts later. The Chinese currency, the yuan, strengthened against the US dollar.

On Saturday, following the first day of talks Trump had praised the “total reset” on the relationship between the two countries.

In a social media post, the US president described the talks as being “very good” and said change had been “negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.

“We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” Trump added.

On Friday, before the talks began, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington would not lower tariffs unilaterally, and China would need to make its own concessions.

Both sides issued various other warnings ahead of the meeting, with Beijing saying the US must ease tariffs while Bessent stressed that the focus was on “de-escalation” and this was not a “big trade deal”.

Chinese state media reported that Beijing had decided to engage with the US after fully considering global expectations, the country’s interests, and appeals from American businesses.

The trade war between China and the US intensified last month after President Trump announced a universal baseline tariff on all imports to the United States, on what he called “Liberation Day”.

It was announced last week that the US and UK had agreed a deal, in which the 25% tariff will be cut to 10% for a maximum of 100,000 UK cars, matching the number of cars the UK exported last year.

(BBC)

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