Some ‘reciprocal’ tariffs and duties are being rolled back in favour of ‘mutually beneficial’ talks.China and the United States have agreed to suspend some of the heavy trade tariffs imposed against one another as they prepare to extend negotiations aimed at lowering trade war tensions.
The two countries issued a joint statement on Monday, following two days of trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland. They described the negotiations, which came after US President Donald Trump’s nationalist agenda prompted a spiral of increasingly heavy duties, as positive.
Global markets reacted positively to the news, with stock markets in Hong Kong, the US and Europe rising.
In the statement, Beijing and Washington said they recognise the importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy.
They said they would move forward “in the spirit of mutual opening, continued communication, cooperation, and mutual respect”.
As part of the agreement, the US will suspend its additional ad valorem rate of duties – tax based on the value of goods – by 24 percent for an “initial” period of 90 days. This will leave a 10 percent tariff rate in place. Advertisement
China will reduce its duties on US imports by a similar amount, also retaining a tariff of 10 percent.
Washington will also roll back tariffs imposed by two executive orders signed by Trump in early April, affecting a wide range of US imports of goods from China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Beijing will suspend tariffs imposed in response and “suspend or remove the non-tariff co …
