US and China take a step back from sky-high tariffs, agree to pause for 90 days

GENEVA AP U S and Chinese agents announced Monday they had reached a deal to roll back the bulk of their up-to-date tariffs and call a -day truce in their arrangement war for more talks on resolving their business disputes Stock markets rose sharply as the globe s two major economic powers took a step back from a clash that has unsettled the global commercial sector U S Pact Representative Jamieson Greer revealed the U S agreed to drop its tariff rate on Chinese goods by percentage points to while China agreed to lower its rate on U S goods by the same amount to Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the tariff reductions at a news conference in Geneva The two representatives struck a positive tone as they disclosed the two sides had set up consultations to continue discussing their exchange issues Bessent revealed at the news briefing after two days of talks that the high tariff levels would have amounted to a complete blockage of each sides goods an outcome neither side wants The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling Bessent commented 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 pact We want more balanced business And I think that both sides are committed to achieving that China s Commerce Ministry called the agreement an pivotal step for the resolution of the two countries differences and announced it lays the foundation for further cooperation This initiative aligns with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries and serves the interests of both nations as well as the common interests of the world a ministry report announced It added that China hopes the U S will stop the erroneous practice of unilateral tariff hikes and work with China to safeguard the rise of their economic and bargain relations injecting more certainty and stability into the global financial market The full impact on the complicated tariffs and other pact penalties enacted by Washington and Beijing remains unclear And much depends on whether they will find tactics to bridge longstanding differences during the -day suspension But as agreement envoys from the world s two biggest economies blinked finding solutions to pull back from potentially massive disruptions to world business and their own markets investors rejoiced Futures for the S P jumped and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up Oil prices surged more than a barrel and the U S dollar gained against the euro and the Japanese yen Jens Eskelund president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China welcomed the news but expressed caution The tariffs only were suspended for days and there is great uncertainty over what lies ahead he commented in a message Businesses need predictability to maintain normal operations and make commitment decisions The chamber therefore hopes to see both sides continue to engage in dialogue to resolve differences and avoid taking measures that will disrupt global exchange and product in collateral damage for those caught in the cross-fire Eskelund reported Trump last month raised U S tariffs on China to a combined and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a levy Tariffs that high essentially amount to the two countries boycotting each other s products disrupting business that last year topped billion The announcement by the U S and China sent shares surging with U S futures jumping more than Hong Kong s Hang Seng index surged nearly and benchmarks in Germany and France were both up The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide but its fight with China has been the largest part intense Trump s import taxes on goods from China include a charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States The remaining involve a dispute dating back to Trump s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China then which means the total tariffs on a few Chinese goods can exceed GENEVA AP U S and Chinese personnel declared Monday they had reached a deal to roll back majority of of their latest tariffs and call a -day truce in their business war for more talks on resolving their business disputes Stock markets rose sharply as the globe s two major economic powers took a step back from a clash that has unsettled the global financial system U S Deal Representative Jamieson Greer commented the U S agreed to drop its tariff rate on Chinese goods by percentage points to while China agreed to lower its rate on U S goods by the same amount to Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared the tariff reductions at a news conference in Geneva The two bureaucrats struck a positive tone as they mentioned the two sides had set up consultations to continue discussing their arrangement issues Bessent reported at the news briefing after two days of talks that the high tariff levels would have amounted to a complete blockage of each sides goods an outcome neither side wants The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling Bessent reported 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 transaction We want more balanced deal And I think that both sides are committed to achieving that China s Commerce Ministry called the agreement an critical step for the resolution of the two countries differences and revealed it lays the foundation for further cooperation This initiative aligns with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries and serves the interests of both nations as well as the common interests of the world a ministry comment noted It added that China hopes the U S will stop the erroneous practice of unilateral tariff hikes and work with China to safeguard the expansion of their economic and pact relations injecting more certainty and stability into the global financial system The full impact on the complicated tariffs and other transaction penalties enacted by Washington and Beijing remains unclear And much depends on whether they will find solutions to bridge longstanding differences during the -day suspension But as transaction envoys from the world s two biggest economies blinked finding procedures to pull back from potentially massive disruptions to world pact and their own markets investors rejoiced Futures for the S P jumped and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up Oil prices surged more than a barrel and the U S dollar gained against the euro and the Japanese yen Jens Eskelund president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China welcomed the news but expressed caution The tariffs only were suspended for days and there is great uncertainty over what lies ahead he reported in a declaration Businesses need predictability to maintain normal operations and make expenditure decisions The chamber therefore hopes to see both sides continue to engage in dialogue to resolve differences and avoid taking measures that will disrupt global exchange and development in collateral damage for those caught in the cross-fire Eskelund reported Trump last month raised U S tariffs on China to a combined and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a levy Tariffs that high essentially amount to the two countries boycotting each other s products disrupting deal that last year topped billion The announcement by the U S and China sent shares surging with U S futures jumping more than Hong Kong s Hang Seng index surged nearly and benchmarks in Germany and France were both up The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide but its fight with China has been the majority of intense Trump s import taxes on goods from China include a charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States The remaining involve a dispute dating back to Trump s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China then which means the total tariffs on several Chinese goods can exceed