The United States has reached a trade agreement with China after two days of high-level negotiations in Geneva, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced on Sunday.
The talks, held at a villa in the Swiss suburb of Cologny, brought together top officials from both countries as they looked to ease tensions over a growing trade deficit and a literal trade war.
“We made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” said Bessent, thanking the Swiss government for hosting. “We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive.”
US, China are set to issue a joint statement on Geneva trade talks on May 12.
The U.S. delegation met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min. The meeting marked the first face-to-face interaction between senior economic officials from the two countries since President Trump launched a global tariff campaign earlier this year.
Ambassador Greer said the two-day meetings were “very constructive,” and stressed how quickly both sides reached an understanding. “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,” he said.
"...There was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. Just remember why we're here in the first place the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency," he said.
Meanwhile, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng said that both sides have reached important consensus. The meeting with US representatives was an important first step, he added.
Earlier this year, President Trump declared a national emergency over the issue and began imposing steep tariffs on Chinese goods. The trade talks in Geneva were part of the administration’s plan to respond to that emergency.
Despite the agreement, there was no announcement regarding changes to the current tariffs. The U.S. has imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese imports, while China has responded with 125% duties on American goods. These measures have halted nearly $600 billion in bilateral trade.
President Trump on Friday suggested for the first time that he could lower the tariff rate to 80%, but no specific commitments were made during the Geneva talks. According to Bessent, both he and Greer have briefed President Trump, who is fully aware of the progress made.
Last night, the US President gave a teaser of the talks, saying the two sides had negotiated "a total reset... in a friendly, but constructive, manner."
"We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"
Chinese officials were expected to make their own announcement later in the evening. Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said China was “very, very eager” to negotiate and that more international trade agreements could follow.
(With inputs from Reuters)
( Originally published on May 11, 2025 )
The talks, held at a villa in the Swiss suburb of Cologny, brought together top officials from both countries as they looked to ease tensions over a growing trade deficit and a literal trade war.
“We made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” said Bessent, thanking the Swiss government for hosting. “We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive.”
US, China are set to issue a joint statement on Geneva trade talks on May 12.
The U.S. delegation met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min. The meeting marked the first face-to-face interaction between senior economic officials from the two countries since President Trump launched a global tariff campaign earlier this year.
Ambassador Greer said the two-day meetings were “very constructive,” and stressed how quickly both sides reached an understanding. “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,” he said.
"...There was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. Just remember why we're here in the first place the United States has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency," he said.
Meanwhile, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng said that both sides have reached important consensus. The meeting with US representatives was an important first step, he added.
Earlier this year, President Trump declared a national emergency over the issue and began imposing steep tariffs on Chinese goods. The trade talks in Geneva were part of the administration’s plan to respond to that emergency.
Despite the agreement, there was no announcement regarding changes to the current tariffs. The U.S. has imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese imports, while China has responded with 125% duties on American goods. These measures have halted nearly $600 billion in bilateral trade.
President Trump on Friday suggested for the first time that he could lower the tariff rate to 80%, but no specific commitments were made during the Geneva talks. According to Bessent, both he and Greer have briefed President Trump, who is fully aware of the progress made.
Last night, the US President gave a teaser of the talks, saying the two sides had negotiated "a total reset... in a friendly, but constructive, manner."
"We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"
Chinese officials were expected to make their own announcement later in the evening. Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said China was “very, very eager” to negotiate and that more international trade agreements could follow.
(With inputs from Reuters)
( Originally published on May 11, 2025 )
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