The U.S. and China have agreed to a temporary but significant easing of the tariffs imposed over the last couple months, the country's said in a joint statement shared by the White House, heralding significant success in trade negotiations that ramped up over the weekend.
In the joint statement released early Monday morning, the two sides said they had agreed that ongoing "discussions have the potential to address the concerns of each side in their economic and trade relationship," and that "moving forward in the spirit of mutual opening, continued communication, cooperation, and mutual respect," both parties had committed to a 90-day suspension of most of the levies imposed since early April.
"We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, where he spent the weekend in meetings with Chinese counterparts. He said Washington and Beijing would reduce their reciprocal tariffs by 115 percentage points for three months to give the negotiations room to move forward.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (R) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hold a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, May 12, 2025, to give details of "substantial progress" following a two-day closed-door meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials aimed at ending a tariff war.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty
This developing story will be updated.