US, China to Slash Tariffs During 90-Day Reprieve

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The US and China will temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products in a dramatic ratcheting down of trade tensions that buys the world’s two largest economies three months to work toward a broader agreement.

The combined 145% US levies on most Chinese imports will be reduced to 30% including the rate tied to fentanyl by May 14, while the 125% Chinese duties on US goods will drop to 10%, according to a joint statement and from officials in a briefing Monday in Geneva.

“Both sides agree we do not want a generalized decoupling,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Bloomberg Television interview Monday. “The US is going to do a strategic decoupling in terms of the items that we discovered during Covid were of national security interests — whether it’s semiconductors, medicine, steel,” he said.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey and Bloomberg Senior Editor Michael Shepard speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Bloomberg Economics Chief US Economist Anna Wong.
• Yale University Professor of China Studies Samm Sacks.
• Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Bloomberg Contributor and Former Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry.

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