US announces agreement with China on tariffs

The United States and the People's Republic of China have "made significant progress" on the issue of tariffs, with an agreement reached between the countries. This was announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer following two days of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, CNN reports.

"I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress between the United States and China in very important trade negotiations," Bessent said, calling the talks "productive."

Greer noted that the agreement between the United States and China was reached after Donald Trump imposed a massive 145% tariff on most Chinese goods last month.

"The President has declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we are confident that the agreement we have reached with our Chinese partners will help us work to resolve this national emergency," the trade representative explained.

He also stressed: "It is important to understand how quickly we were able to reach an agreement, which suggests that perhaps the differences were not as great as one might think."

Greer noted that the Chinese delegation are "very tough negotiators," adding that the US representatives "have worked very hard" and the last two days have been "very constructive."

Bessent noted that the details of the US-China agreement will become known on the morning of May 12.

The Treasury Secretary said he and Greer had briefed Trump on the talks, whom he called "fully informed." The day before, the US president himself had declared "great progress" in relations with China.

• In early April 2025, Trump announced the introduction of "reciprocal" tariffs ranging from 10% to 50%. Having received requests for negotiations from more than 75 countries, the US suspended them for 90 days (for most countries, a 10% tariff will apply).

• For China, which responded with an increase in tariffs, the "reciprocal" tariff rate increased to 125% (and together with the previous tariffs, 145%).

• On May 9, Trump said he was ready to reduce tariffs against China to 80%.