BEIJING, May  14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The United States and China slashed
sweeping tariffs on each others' goods for 90 days on Wednesday, marking a
temporary de-escalation in a brutal trade war that roiled global markets and
international supply chains.

Washington and Beijing agreed to drastically lower sky-high tariffs in a
deal that emerged from pivotal talks at the weekend in Geneva.

US President Donald Trump said Washington now had the blueprint for a
"very, very strong" trade deal with China that would see Beijing's economy
"open up" to US businesses, in an interview broadcast Tuesday on Fox News.

"We have the confines of a very, very strong deal with China. But the most
exciting part of the deal ... that's the opening up of China to US business,"
he told the US broadcaster while aboard Air Force One on the way to the start
of his Gulf tour.

"One of the things I think that could be most exciting for us and also for
China, is that we're trying to open up China," he added, without elaborating.
Trump had upended international commerce with his sweeping tariffs across
economies, and China has been especially hard hit.

Unwilling to budge, Beijing responded with retaliatory levies that brought
new tariffs on both sides well over 100 percent.

After billions were wiped off equities and with businesses ailing,
negotiations finally got underway at the weekend in Geneva between the world's
trade superpowers to find a way out of the impasse.

Under the deal, the United States agreed to lower its new tariffs on
Chinese goods to 30 percent while China will reduce its own to 10 percent --
down by over 100 percentage points.

- 'No winners' -

The reductions came into effect just after midnight Washington time (0401
GMT) on Wednesday, a major de-escalation in trade tensions that saw US tariffs
on Chinese imports soar to up to 145 percent and even as high as 245 percent on
some products.

Washington also lowered duties on low-value imports from China that hit
e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu.

Under Trump's order, such small parcels would be hit by duties of 54
percent of their value -- down from 120 percent -- or a $100 payment.

China said Wednesday it was suspending certain non-tariff countermeasures
too.

Beijing's commerce ministry said it was halting for 90 days measures that
put 28 US entities on an "export control list" that bars firms from receiving
items that could be used for both civilian and military purposes.

The ministry added in a separate statement that it was pausing measures
which added 17 US entities to an "unreliable entity list". Companies on the
list are prohibited from import and export activities or making new investments
in China.

The suspension for 11 entities added on April 4 applies for 90 days, while
the ministry did not specify the length of suspension for six others added on
April 9.

Markets have rallied in the glow of the China-US tariff suspension.
Chinese officials have pitched themselves at a summit in Beijing with Latin
American leaders this week as a stable partner and defender of globalisation.

"There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars," Chinese President Xi
Jinping told leaders including Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His top
diplomat Wang Yi swiped at a "major power" that believed "might makes right".

- 'Risk of renewed escalation' -

Deep sources of tension remain -- the US additional tariff rate is higher
than China's because it includes a 20 percent levy over Trump's complaints
about Chinese exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the fentanyl
trade, something China denies.

Analysts warn that the possibility of tariffs returning after 90 days
simply piles on more uncertainty.

"Further tariff reductions will be difficult and the risk of renewed
escalation persists," Yue Su, principal economist at The Economist Intelligence
Unit, told AFP.

Trump's rollercoaster tariff row with Beijing has wreaked havoc on US
companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing, with the temporary de-escalation
only expected to partially calm the storm.

And Beijing officials have admitted that China's economy -- already ailing
from a protracted property crisis and sluggish consumer spending -- is likewise
being affected by trade uncertainty.