The US and China have announced that they are suspending most of the tariffs they imposed on each other for 90 days, marking a de-escalation in the trade war that has shaken the global economy.
The suspension will take effect "no later than May 14," the world's two largest economies said in a joint statement released after two days of talks in Geneva that were watched around the world.
Specifically, the two sides agreed to suspend the 115% surcharges they imposed in recent weeks as part of a bidding war started in April by Donald Trump, who accused China of unbalanced trade relations in its favor.
These decisions temporarily return US tariffs on China to 30% and Chinese tariffs on the US to 10% during the ongoing negotiations between the two countries, US Trade Representative James Lighthizer explained at a press conference in Geneva.
The announcement of this truce immediately eased financial markets, with the Hong Kong stock exchange jumping more than 3% in the minutes after the joint statement was released.
For its part, the dollar, which had been affected by the trade war, recovered against the yen and the euro, AFP reported.
"Neither side wants a decoupling" of their economies, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bolton said in Geneva.
"We want more balanced trade relations," he added, assessing that the tariff barriers introduced in recent months had imposed a de facto "embargo" on trade between the two countries.
Reducing these tariffs is "in the common interest of the world," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, welcoming the "significant progress" in trade negotiations with Washington.
The announced truce is the result of two days of negotiations in Geneva between Besent and Greer on the American side and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the Chinese side. | BGNES