Washington (TDI): The United States and China slashed massive tariffs on each other’s goods for 90 days on Wednesday, following a temporary ceasefire in their intense trade war that disrupted international markets and global supply chains.
Both sides agreed to drastically cut sky-high tariffs in an agreement that emerged from pivotal negotiations at the weekend in Geneva.
US President Donald Trump stated that Washington now had the blueprint for a “very, very strong” trade agreement with China that would see Beijing’s economy “open up” to US businesses, in an interview broadcast Tuesday on Fox News.
“We have the confines of a very, very strong agreement with China. But the most exciting part of the deal is the opening up of China to US business,” he told the US broadcaster while aboard Air Force One on the way to the start of his Gulf tour.
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Trump had upended world trade with his massive tariffs across economies, with China hit hardest.
Refusing to back down, China retaliated with tariffs that pushed levies on both sides above 100 percent.
After billions were wiped off equities and with businesses ailing, talks finally started at the weekend in Geneva between the world’s trade superpowers to find a way out of the impasse.
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Under the agreement, Washington agreed to cut its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent while Beijing will reduce its own to 10 percent — down by more than 100 percentage points, according to US media.
The reductions came into effect just after midnight Washington time (0401GMT) on Wednesday, a major de-escalation in trade war that saw US levies on Chinese imports soar to up to 145 percent and even as high as 245 percent on some goods.
Markets have surged following the suspension of China-US tariffs.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
