President Donald Trump‘s administration struck a trade deal with China.
The White House announced there were ‘productive talks’ in Switzerland on Sunday and previewed a briefing on Monday to go over details of the agreement.
It comes just weeks after Trump imposed worldwide tariffs that sent global markets into a tailspin.
This included placing a whopping 145 percent tariff on most Chinese goods – the highest tax by far of any country – making it nearly impossible for Beijing to trade with Washington.
‘I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on the agreement.
Switzerland hosted the trade agreement talks between the U.S. and China.
Bessent was in Switzerland this weekend for two days of trade talks with China on neutral ground.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to press on Sunday, May 11 during the second day of bilateral talks between the U.S. and China in Geneva, Switzerland
The Treasury Secretary was joined by U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer.
The two spoke with the press outside the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations.
They announced a deescalation of trade tensions at the conclusions of talks in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday.
‘This was, as the Secretary pointed out, a very constructive two days,’ Greer said. ‘It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought.’
‘That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days,’ he added.
Bessent said he spoke with Trump and there will be a full briefing on Monday.
President Donald Trump revealed in a Rose Garden event on April 2, 2025 a list of tariffs he was imposing on other countries
Trump revealed on April 2, which he dubbed ‘Liberation Day,’ that he was imposing tariffs on all trading partners with the U.S.
He claimed that conditions currently in place were disadvantageous to the U.S. and that he was tired of Americans getting the short end of the stick.
‘Just remember why we’re here in the first place,’ Ambassador Greer said on Sunday, ‘the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs.’
‘We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,’ he added.
