Many are welcoming the 90-day truce in the U.S.-China trade war agreed to over the weekend, as both sides temporarily lowered eye-wateringly high tariffs.
The sharp climb-down well exceeded market expectations, with investors rushing back into Hong Kong and New York-listed stocks. U.S. levies on most Chinese imports will be reduced to 30% from 145%, while the 125% Chinese duties on U.S. goods will drop to 10%. "Neither side wants to decouple,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday after a weekend of negotiations in Geneva.
It was a huge relief for small businesses and millions of workers on both sides of the Pacific. But it’s also a sign that despite their strongmen image, U.S. President Donald Trump and his counterpart, Xi Jinping, are not without common sense. With prohibitive levies that would essentially lead to a complete embargo, the world’s two biggest economies are hurting.
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