China and the US have agreed a 90-day pause to the deepening trade war that has threatened to upend the global economy, with reciprocal tariffs to be lowered by 115 percentage points. Speaking to the media after talks in Geneva, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said both sides had shown “great respect” in the negotiations. Bessent said: “The consensus from both delegations this weekend was neither side wants a decoupling.” The 90-day lowering of tariffs applies to the duties announced by Donald Trump on 2 April, which ultimately escalated…
Tag: International trade
Trump claims ‘total reset’ in US-China trade relations after tariff talks in Geneva
Donald Trump has hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations after the first day of talks between top American and Chinese officials in Geneva aimed at defusing a trade war sparked by his tariff rollout. The US president praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”. “We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business,” he posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday, adding: “GREAT…
Chinese and US officials meet in Geneva for ‘de-escalation’ trade talks
Senior US and Chinese officials held talks early on Saturday in Geneva in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war that is disrupting the global economy, according to China’s state-owned news agency and people close to the talks. China’s vice premier, He Lifeng, and the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, met after weeks of growing tensions that have seen duties on goods imports between the world’s two largest economies rise above 100%. The trade dispute, combined with the decision from the US president, Donald Trump, last month to…
China exports beat expectations despite slump in trade with US
Chinese trade with the United States slumped in April even as its total exports beat forecasts, official figures show, as trade representatives from both nations prepared to meet this weekend in the midst of a gruelling trade war between the superpower rivals. Exports to the United States – one of China’s top trading partners – fell 17.6% in April, data showed. Against that backdrop, analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected exports to rise just 2% year-on-year last month. However they beat expectations, coming in at 8.1%. “The damage of the…
BMW boss predicts Trump’s 25% tariffs on foreign cars will be lowered by July
The boss of BMW has predicted that Donald Trump’s import tariffs on foreign cars will be lowered this summer, as the German carmaker reported profits for the first three months had tumbled by a quarter. Oliver Zipse, BMW’s chief executive, said he expected that Trump’s 25% tariffs on the import of foreign cars would be dropped by July. He made the prediction after the company reported a drop in profit to €3.1bn (£2.6bn) as it braced for the effects of Trump’s trade war and strong competition in China. Zipse also…
China to cut interest rates in response to trade war with US
China will cut interest rates and inject some much-needed liquidity into the domestic economy, as the country steels itself for a bruising trade war with the US. The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would make a half-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio, its benchmark interest rate, and release 1tn yuan (£103.6bn) into the banking system. Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, said China would also cut a key interest rate by 0.1 percentage point. Pan said the “moderately loose” measures were…
UK should not fear trade with China – but needs to keep risks in check | Gerard Lyons
The US is urging countries to agree new trade deals. The perceived risk is a bipolar world, where countries have to choose between the US and China. What are the implications for the UK? In all likelihood this choice is avoidable. The global economy is so interconnected, fragmentation is more likely than a bipolar world. Supply chains are complex, and involve many countries. Even as nations look to onshore supply chains, achieving this will be a lengthy and expensive challenge. Likewise, with financial flows. Bank for International Settlements data shows…
Why is Trump ending the ‘de minimis’ tariff loophole on low-value imports?
At one minute past midnight on Friday, eastern time, a US tariff exemption that has fuelled the rise of companies such as Shein and Temu, and stocked the wardrobes of millions of Americans with cheap fast fashion and other household goods, closed. As part of Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs on China, the US is closing a loophole that allowed low-value goods to be shipped into the US without paying any import fees. The “de minimis” loophole, known by the Latin phrase for “of little importance”, was “a big scam…
China manufacturing activity plummets amid Trump tariff war
China’s factory activity slowed in April, with Beijing blaming “sharp changes” in the global economy as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States. Punishing US tariffs that reached 145% on many Chinese products came into force in April, and Beijing responded with 125% duties on imports from the US. Chinese exports soared more than 12% last month as businesses rushed to get ahead of the punishing tariffs. The impact of the measures began to show in official data on Wednesday, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) –…
Trump tells interviewer Crimea ‘will stay with Russia’ in any Ukraine peace deal – live
From 26m ago Trump: Crimea ‘will stay with Russia’ – report Donald Trump has said in an interview with Time magazine that Crimea “will stay with Russia” as part of peace negotiations with Ukraine. Trump accused Zelenskyy on Wednesday of prolonging the “killing field” by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea peninsula as part of a possible deal. Russia illegally annexed that area in 2014. Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the war that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country. Share Updated at 07.40 EDT…