The United States and China announce the agreement to reduce reciprocal tariffs for 90 days

The United States and China issued a joint statement on Monday announcing an agreement to reduce reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with both parties “recognizing the importance of a sustainable economic and commercial relationship in the long term and mutually beneficial.”

American and Chinese representatives met for conversations in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend in an attempt to establish the basis for negotiations in a broader potential commercial agreement. The “Liberation Day” tariffs of President Donald Trump announced in April fired a spiral commercial war between the two economic giants, the markets that rise and caused fears of a recession in the United States.

“We have reached an agreement on a 90 -day break and we lower substantially for tariff levels,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, at a press conference on Monday in Geneva. “Both parties, in reciprocal rates, will reduce their tariffs by 115%,” said Besent.

The United States commercial representative Jamieson Greer added that the United States and China will maintain 10% reciprocal tariffs as part of the agreement.

“Today, with this agreement, we reach an agreement that, although our reciprocal rate rate will be reduced to 10% on the United States side,” Greer said. “The Chinese on their side also fall from 115% to 10% and eliminate the countermeasures they have in place.”

Greer confirmed that during the pause, the effective rate of Chinese products entering the US will be 30%. He also said that China’s effective rates will be 10% for the duration of the pause. The changes will come into force on Wednesday, said the joint statement of the United States-China.

“What matters for today’s agreement is that each agreed to fall into the reciprocal rate and reprisals related to 10%,” Greer said.

In a statement carried out by the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, Beijing said the two parties “will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and commercial relations” once the measures established in Monday’s agreement were in force.

“These discussions can be carried out alternately in China and the United States, or a third country to the agreement of the parties,” the statement continued. “As required, the two parties can make work level consultations on relevant economic and commercial issues.”

Monday’s announcement followed two days of conversations that both parties described as successful.

At a media conference on Sunday, the Chinese vice president, He Lifeng, said that commercial conversations with the United States “achieved substantial progress and reached an important consensus.”

On early Sunday, the White House said he reached an agreement without providing any detail.

While Greer called him an “agreement,” Besent said only that he had made a “substantial progress.”

This is a development story. Consult the updates again.

Lauren Minore of Abc News, Hannah Demissie, Alex Ederson and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.