The U.S. and Chinese governments have agreed to reduce most tariffs for 90 days.
The decision came after top officials from both countries met in Geneva, Switzerland over the weekend. As part of those negotiations, the U.S. has agreed to drop tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while China will reduce its own levies on U.S. goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent.
In total, all but 10 per cent of the U.S.-China Liberation Day tariffs have been suspended for 90 days, while the additional retaliatory tariffs have been axed entirely.
While some of the levies have been suspended rather than cancelled altogether, President Trump told reporters that tariffs on China will “go up substantially higher” if a new deal isn’t reached within 90 days. However, during a Monday press conference, U.S. President Donald Trump said he doesn’t expect the U.S. tariffs to reach as high as 145 per cent again.
It remains to be seen what will come out of this 90-day negotiation period. So far, some companies have already been raising prices in response to the tariffs, like Microsoft just did with its various Xbox products. It’s also unclear what impact, if any, these pauses and subsequent new deals will have on Canada.
On that note, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Trump last week to discuss a variety of issues. Most prominently, Carney continued to push back against Trump’s repeated calls to make Canada “the 51st state.” Following that meeting, Pete Hoekstra, Canada’s envoy to the U.S., said tariffs on Canada may not be “totally removed” under a future agreement but was optimistic about a “stronger” relationship between the two nations.
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Source: The White House Via: BBC News
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