On May 12, AP reported that "The United States and China agreed Monday to slash their massive recent tariffs," restarting stalled trade between the world’s two largest economies and triggering a surge in global financial markets.
However, as noted in the article, "the de-escalation in President Donald Trump’s trade wars did nothing to resolve underlying differences between Beijing and Washington." The agreement, which will last for 90 days, is intended to provide negotiators time to pursue a broader resolution. Yet, "the pause also leaves tariffs higher than before Trump started ramping them up last month," leaving businesses and investors facing ongoing uncertainty over the truce’s durability.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that "the U.S. agreed to drop the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%," while "China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%."
The White House issued a joint statement on this matter on May 12 as well.
Janette Wider | Editor-in-Chief
Janette Wider is Editor-in-Chief for Healthcare Purchasing News.
