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(Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trump said China had agreed to remove non-tariff barriers to US imports as he announced a deescalation of his trade war with Beijing, suggesting even greater concessions could be in store if talks progress.
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“China will also suspend and remove all of its non-monetary barriers. They’ve agreed to do that,” Trump said at the White House on Monday following the first publicly known talks between the countries since the start of a crippling tariff fight.
Trump’s comments suggested a possible willingness by Beijing to roll back the myriad regulations, export restrictions, and ownership rules that complicate foreign investment in the country — though the US president has made hyperbolic claims about the progress on trade negotiations in the past.
The agreement negotiated between a Chinese delegation and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva simply announced both countries would temporarily lower duties to give them more time to negotiate. The president offered no specific details on which barriers the Chinese had agreed to dismantle in the closed-door discussions, while acknowledging that the discussions ahead would only be more complicated.
“It’s going to take a while to paper it. You know, that’s not the easiest thing to paper,” he added.
In a joint statement, China said it would suspend or cancel non-tariff countermeasures imposed on the US since April 2, when Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on dozens of nations in an action he dubbed “Liberation Day.” That is seen as reference to Beijing’s addition of seven rare earths to its export control list. Removing those restrictions was a priority for Washington to alleviate pressure on a number of industries.
Overall, 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%. The tariff reductions won’t apply to sectoral duties applied to all US trading partners or to tariffs applied on China during the first Trump administration.
Trump also said that he would speak to his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, “maybe at the end of the week.”