US and China agree to sharply reduce tariffs on each other's goods

View of a cargo port in California, USA. Photo: THX/TTXVN

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke to the media in Geneva on May 12 (local time) announcing that the US and China have agreed to reduce tariffs in the next 90 days.

This is a major cooling move in the heated tariff war between the world's two largest economies .

According to the joint statement, the US will temporarily lower tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut import tariffs on US goods from 125% to 10%.

According to Bloomberg news agency (USA), the new tariff will take effect from May 14.

Bilateral trade between the US and China is expected to reach $688.3 billion in 2024 but is facing a sharp decline after a series of escalating retaliatory tariffs.

Before the May 12 announcement, the total tariff rate imposed by the US on Chinese goods was 145%, including the 20% previously imposed and 125% in the reciprocal tariff package.

In response, Beijing made similar tariff increases, but confirmed that it would not continue to raise tariffs after imposing an additional 125% tariff.

On April 22, the media reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a closed-door conference for investors, admitted that the tariff war with China has led to a “two-way trade embargo” that cannot be maintained for long, and that he expects the situation to cool down in the near future.

On May 10, the United States and China kicked off a high-level meeting on economic and trade issues in Geneva, Switzerland. This event is the first official public contact between senior officials of the world's two largest economies to ease trade tensions that threaten to negatively impact global growth.

According to Chinese customs data released on May 9, tariff tensions caused China's exports to the US in April to fall 21% compared to the same period last year, while imports from the US fell 13.8%.

According to VNA

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/quoc-te/my-trung-nhat-tri-cung-giam-manh-thue-quan-danh-vao-hang-hoa-cua-nhau/20250512113444391