U.S., China drop high tariffs, agree to 90-day pause

The U.S. and China on Monday announced the details of a trade agreement reached over the weekend in which the countries vastly scale back their massive reciprocating tariffs for 90-days.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to lower its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods down to 30%, while China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%, with each country dropping their respective rates by 115 percentage points, according to the Associated Press.

Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the tariff deal in Geneva, following the weekend of negotiations with their Chinese counterparts.

“The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling,” Bessent said. “And what had occurred with these very high tariff ... was an embargo, the equivalent of an embargo. And neither side wants that. We do want trade.”

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said that both sides agreed to cancel 91% in tariffs on each other’s goods and pause another 24% in tariffs for 90 days, resulting in a total reduction of 115 percentage points.

“This initiative aligns with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries and serves the interests of both nations as well as the common interests of the world,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.