Africa-Press – Mauritius. The US and China have agreed to a sweeping rollback of punitive tariffs for an initial 90-day period, signaling a rare moment of relief in their protracted trade conflict and raising hopes for longer-term economic stability, according to a joint statement on Monday.
The deal, reached following intense weekend negotiations in Geneva, will see both countries significantly reduce duties on each other’s goods, with the US lowering its tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30% and China decreasing its own from 125% to 10% by May 14.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made the joint statement public during a press briefing in Geneva.
Though only temporary, the agreement is the most significant step toward easing trade tensions in years, providing a lifeline to global markets rattled by months of uncertainty.
In the joint statement, both governments acknowledged the importance of “a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial” trade relationship.
To that end, the two sides will launch a new dialogue mechanism to maintain momentum, led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Bessent, and Greer.
Bessent said at the briefing that the talks were “very productive” and the process was “very positive.”
“The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling,” he said, describing the tariffs that were imposed by both sides as “equivalent of an embargo.”
“And neither side wants that. We do want trade, we want more balanced trade, and I think both sides are committed to achieving that,” he said. “We would like to see China more open to US goods; we expect that as the negotiations proceed, there will also be a possibility of a purchase agreement to pull the largest bilateral trade deficit into balance.”
He was referring to the US trade deficit of goods, which stood at $1.2 trillion, a figure that later led US President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and impose tariffs.
“Now we look forward to very good discussions,” he added.
Greer, for his part, said both sides are “very committed” to the initial pause period.
He also clarified that other measures implemented by the US in the past are still “unchained for now.”
Future talks may alternate between “China, the United States, or a third country upon agreement of the parties” venues, with lower-level technical discussions convened as needed, the joint statement read.
The 90-day relief in reciprocal tariffs with the US “is in line with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries,” said a statement by China’s Commerce Ministry, moments after the two sides shared the joint statement.
“We hope that the US will continue to work with China to meet each other halfway based on this meeting, thoroughly correct the wrong practice of unilateral tariff increases, continuously strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, maintain the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations, and jointly inject more certainty and stability into the world economy,” the Chinese ministry said.
Following the briefing, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed willingness to continue hosting the discussions between the US and China during the upcoming period, which has been agreed under the establishment of the new mechanism.
“I’m pleased that Switzerland could help facilitate the talks between China and the USA in Geneva,” Keller-Sutter said.
“Switzerland remains ready to offer its good offices,” she added.
The surprise rollback follows years of tit-for-tat tariffs that disrupted global supply chains and fueled economic anxiety.
The talks, which began Saturday in the Swiss city, came after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, prompting Beijing to retaliate with 125% duties on American goods.
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