The Trump administration announced a major win Monday in its trade talks with China, revealing a steep decline in tariffs between the two trading partners amid talks to develop a long-term trade agreement.
“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially move down the tariff levels,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, according to ABC.
“Both sides, on the reciprocal tariffs, will move their tariffs down 115 percent.”
“Today, with this agreement, we come to agreement that though that our reciprocal tariff rate will go down to 10 percent on the United States side,” U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer explained. “The Chinese on their side also go down 115 percent to 10 percent, and they remove the countermeasures that they have in place.”
That means Chinese goods entering the U.S. will face a 30 percent tariff; American goods flowing to China face a 10 percent tariff.
A Chinese statement said the two nations “will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations” once Monday’s agreement is fully in place.
Bessent said he wants to keep the momentum going.
“I would imagine in the next few weeks, we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement,” he said, according to CNBC.
“What we have with the Chinese is a mechanism to avoid upward tariff pressure.”
Is it surprising that Trump brought China to its knees?
“This trade deal is a win for the United States, demonstrating President Trump’s unparalleled expertise in securing deals that benefit the American people,” according to a fact sheet on the White House website.
The fact sheet noted that the U.S. trade deficit with China was $295.4 billion in 2024, adding, “Today’s agreement works toward addressing these imbalances to deliver real, lasting benefits to American workers, farmers, and businesses.”
“The United States and China will take aggressive actions to stem the flow of fentanyl and other precursors from China to illicit drug producers in North America,” the fact sheet said.
BREAKING: U.S. Announces China Trade Deal in Geneva pic.twitter.com/JjgvYAvAGe
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 11, 2025
In a Sunday night statement on the White House website, Bessent said the two sides made “substantial progress,” noting that President Donald Trump has been fully informed on the negotiations throughout the weekend.
“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” Greer said in the statement.
“Just remember why we’re here in the first place — the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency.”
According to a document posted on the White House website, future talks on trade will continue and “may be conducted alternately in China and the United States, or a third country upon agreement of the Parties. As required, the two sides may conduct working-level consultations on relevant economic and trade issues.”
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