Seth McLaughlin | May 12, 2025
(The Washington Times) — The White House on Monday released more details of the trade deal the United States had reached with China over the weekend.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points to 30%, while China agreed to lower its rate on U.S. goods by the same amount to 10%.
The breakthrough was announced after two days of talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators in Geneva.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Mr. Greer emerged from the talks saying “substantial progress” had been made toward de-escalating an all-out trade war between the two economic superpowers.
“The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling,” Mr. Bessent said. “And what had occurred with these very high tariff … was an embargo, the equivalent of an embargo. And neither side wants that. We do want trade.”
“We want more balanced trade. And I think that both sides are committed to achieving that.”
China’s Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to cancel 91% in tariffs on each other’s goods and suspend another 24% in tariffs for 90 days, bringing the total reduction to 115 percentage points.
“The United States has a massive $1.2 billion trade deficit. So the president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs,” Mr. Greer said. “We are confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency.”
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng told reporters that negotiators had agreed to establish a “trade consultation mechanism.” He said the two sides “have taken important steps to resolve differences through equal dialogue and consultation,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
He said China wants to make the “pie of cooperation bigger” with the U.S.
A deal with China would be a massive win for President Trump. His aggressive tariff push has faced stiff resistance from economists, free market conservatives and Democrats, who have warned about increased chances of an economic recession.
The White House is negotiating trade deals with more than 170 countries. Last week, it announced a deal with Britain. However, China is the 800-pound gorilla.
The United States and China had hoped to find common ground in a tit-for-tat trade war that has led to a 145% tariff on Chinese imports and a 125% tariff on American products.
The “deal” could have global ramifications because the trade war has generated considerable uncertainty in markets and economies worldwide. U.S. retailers have warned that they must offset the costs of tariffs with price increases. They say the tariffs could lead to supply chain challenges and empty store shelves.
Meanwhile, economists have warned that the trade war could increase inflation and the chances of a recession.
To ease concerns, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Mr. Bessent traveled to Geneva to “reset” and “de-escalate” trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies.
“One of his objectives is to de-escalate,” Mr. Lutnick said on “Fox News Sunday.” “So he is there to see if he can reset the conversation.”
Mr. Trump insists the tariffs will help rebalance global trade, reduce the federal deficit, and encourage the reshoring of manufacturing and supply chains within the United States.
Mr. Bessent has said the United States is in the driver’s seat in the negotiations because the Chinese economy is deeply dependent on shipping cheap goods to the United States, the world’s largest consumer.
Mr. Greer said the U.S. exported $143.5 billion in goods to China in 2024 and imported $438.9 billion from China, for a trade deficit of $295.4 billion.
“I am happy to report we have made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” Mr. Bessent said. “We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you the talks were productive.”
Mr. Greer praised the work of the “tough” Chinese negotiators.
“It is important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” he said.
The meetings in Switzerland follow the first significant breakthrough in global trade negotiations since Mr. Trump started imposing 10% tariffs on all imported goods on April 2, which the president dubbed “Liberation Day.”
He unveiled additional tariffs for specific countries that he said had unfair trade practices.
Mr. Trump announced Thursday that he had hammered out a trade deal with Britain that lowers the tariffs on British steel, aluminum and cars and opens more access to the British market to American farmers.
Britain is still subject to the baseline 10% tariff that Mr. Trump has signaled is the new norm on imports.
“We do expect a 10% baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Lutnick said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Reaching a deal with China may be the most challenging task for Mr. Trump’s trade team, even with progress in negotiating down trade barriers in other countries.
On Friday, Mr. Trump softened his posture toward China, saying Beijing could face an 80% tariff on its goods, a drastic reduction from the current 145% tariff.
“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,” Mr. Trump wrote before the Geneva meeting.
On Saturday, he said the U.S. and Chinese officials had a “very good meeting.”
“Many things discussed, much agreed to,” Mr. Trump posted about the seven-hour meeting on Truth Social. “A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.”
On Sunday, Mr. Lutnick declined to clarify an agreement but said on “State of the Union” that the administration is “optimistic that things will work out well.”
Mr. Lutnick also dismissed economists’ warnings that tariffs would force consumers to pay more for goods.
“Don’t buy into these economists who are not in the real world,” he said.
During an appearance on “State of the Union,” Mr. Lutnick said those warnings are “silly” and “the business and the countries primarily eat the tariffs.”
