US and China agree to slash tariffs on each other | US News

The US and China have agreed to slash tariffs on each other as they seek to end their trade war.

Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the two sides had reached a deal for a 90-day pause on measures.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer said so-called reciprocal tariffs were now at 10% each.

In real terms, it meant the US is reducing its 145% tariff to 30% on Chinese goods, as a tariff of around 20% had been in effect from previous administrations.

China has agreed to reduce its 125% retaliatory tariffs to 10% on US goods.

Money blog: Life as a divorce lawyer

Tariffs, taxes on imports of more than 100%, had been imposed on both sides. China was the only country exempt from a 90 pause on the “retaliatory” tariffs above the base 10% levies applied by America.

Major retailers had been warning President Donald Trump of empty shelves as US importers pause shipments.

Mr Bessent said after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland, the countries had a mechanism for continued talks.

It’s the second major trade announcement made by the US in the last week, after a deal was secured with the UK on Thursday.

The moves signals willingness from the Americans to make deals on tariffs.

Prior to this morning’s announcement, both sides had talked up a potential deal, though no detail had been announced.

Welcomed news

Chinese media described the meeting between China and the US as bringing about a mechanism for further talks through having agreed to establish “an economic and trade consultation mechanism”, while President Trump said the pair had “a total reset negotiated”.

However light on tangible announcements, the news was received positively by Asian stock markets on Monday as major indexes were up.

Even before the 90-day pause announcement in China, the Shanghai Composite stock index rose 0.7%, the Shenzhen Component gained 1.7%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.2%.

In countries across Asia, benchmark stock indexes also rose. Korea’s Kospi grew 1.1%, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8% while India’s Nifty 50 index of most valuable companies gained more than 3%.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.