Politics
BREAKING: US, China Strike Trade Deal After Extensive Weekend Talks
The U.S. and China have agreed on a trade deal to help resolve the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies, senior Trump Administration Officials announced Sunday.
Details of the deal, which was agreed to during talks between the two nations in Switzerland over the weekend, have not yet been revealed. Officials have suggested that more information will be shared Monday when President Trump received a briefing from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“The U.S. has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday. “We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us work toward resolving that national emergency.”
Greer joined Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for the first direct talks between the country since Trump announced 145 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the U.S. last month. Beijing retaliated with 125 percent tariffs on American goods, though the two sides have agreed to slash trade barriers on a number of crucial exports.
Saturday’s meeting lasted for about ten hours and was described by Bessent as “substantial” towards negotiating a significant tariff reduction for both sides. Trump has hinted that he is open to reducing the rate to as low as 50 percent, but only if China makes notable “concessions” and eliminates their own trade barriers.
Trump appeared optimistic over the possibility of a reduction when introducing a new trade deal with the U.K. from the Oval Office on Thursday. “It’s at 145 so we know it’s coming down,” Trump told reporters. “I think we’re going to have a very good relationship.”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrives for a meeting with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on December 10, 2024.
America’s third largest trading partner, China has long drawn the ire of the Trump Administration due to a number of its adversarial actions, including the exporting of deadly fentanyl, intellectual property theft, currency manipulation and more.
Last year, the US had a $295.4 billion trade deficit with China, a figure Trump has long tried to correct. The president previously slapped 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods during his first administration in an effort to halt the fentanyl crisis, though his current trade strategy has been seen as a major escalation.
While speaking to White House reporters following Sunday’s talks, Greer indicated that the differences between the two sides are not as vast as previously thought.
“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to [an] agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” Greer added. “There was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days.”
President Trump described the talks as a “total reset” in trade negotiations in a statement of his own.
“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner,” the president announced in a Truth Social post. “We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!”
