China & U.S. reach deal to temporarily slash tariffs

China and the United States have agreed to remove most tariffs imposed since April 2 – a breakthrough following high-stakes talks that could help resolve a trade war that had raised import duties to unprecedented levels.

The two countries made the announcement in a joint statement on Monday.

The agreement lowers the US’ additional tariff rates on Chinese goods to 30 per cent, and Chinese duties on US imports to 10 per cent, on top of some retaliatory levies imposed earlier on selected American goods.

“We have substantially moved down the tariff levels,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the American delegation at the talks, in a press conference held shortly after the statement’s release. “Neither side wants a decoupling.”

According to the joint statement, both China and the US pledged to remove 91 percentage points of the April tariffs and suspend a further 24 percentage points for the next 90 days, leaving 10 percentage points of the duties in place, effective Wednesday.

Separately, the 20 per cent duties on Chinese goods imposed by US President Donald Trump before April in the name of stopping flows of the illegal drug fentanyl will remain in effect.

Beijing has also agreed to pause or remove all non-tariff countermeasures imposed since April 2, which include the addition of some US firms to sanctions lists and export controls on some rare earths.

The talks – held at the weekend in Geneva, Switzerland – were the first formal negotiations between the two superpowers since Trump slapped new tariffs of 145 per cent on China this year. In retaliation, Beijing had imposed 125 per cent levies on US goods.

The two sides have agreed to establish a trade-talk mechanism to maintain close communication and engage in further consultations on a regular and ad hoc basis, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement on Monday.