Some of the issues that the US and China might discusspublished at 09:41 British Summer Time

Jonathan Josephs
Business reporter

There is clearly a sense of optimism from both sides after this weekend’s talks in Geneva but there’s a lot of work to be done.

The 90-day tariff suspensions give the US and China more time to make progress, however, the list of US complaints is long.

President Trump has long been unhappy with the fact that the US buys substantially more goods from China than it sells it.

Other concerns include a lack of protection for the intellectual property rights of American companies in China including the forced transfer of technology.

There’s also unhappiness about alleged Chinese government subsidies that give their companies an unfair advantage – something Beijing says Washington also does.

And in some industries, like steel and aluminium production, those subsidies are argued to support excess manufacturing which drives global prices down, Beijing has also dismissed that argument.

Plus there are disagreements over regulations in industries ranging from food to cosmetics.

These differences have been years in the making so it’s difficult to see how all of them can be resolved by August but substantial progress would certainly ease tensions.

The value of the US dollar and Chinese Yuan have both risen at the news of the suspension.

The dollar has risen in value against the pound, Euro and Japanese Yen.

The Yuan is also up against those three major currencies, as well as the dollar itself.

China was becoming concerned at the impact of US tariffspublished at 09:15 British Summer Time

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, in Beijing

China had maintained a defiant stance as US tariffsspiralled. It retaliated with its own steep levies and pledged that it wouldnot back down.

This country can take the pain of an economic war withAmerica – to an extent. It is the lead trade partner for more than 100 othercountries.

But officials in Beijing have become increasingly concernedabout the impact the tariffs could have on an economy that is alreadystruggling to deal with a property crisis and high youth unemployment.

Factory output has already slowed and there are reports thatsome companies were having to lay off workers as production lines of goodsbound for the US began to grind to a halt.

The commerce ministry said the agreement reached with theUS is an important step to “resolve differences” and “lay the foundation tobridge differences and deepen cooperation”.

Such a positive statement from Beijing would have seemedinconceivable just a month ago.

There is a slight sting in the tail. The ministry ended itsstatement with a reminder of who it sees as being in the wrong.

“We hope the US. side will continue to work with China tothoroughly correct the practice of unilateral increases.”

A larger cut than expected – but 30% is still a high tariffpublished at 09:12 British Summer Time

Theo Leggett
International business correspondent

The tariff cut was bigger than expected – and that hasbeen welcomed by analysts.

The current US tariff, at 30%, is still high – buthas been described by analysts as “manageable”.

Some of the measures have onlybeen paused, not cancelled.

But for the moment, today’s news is being seen as awelcome step forward.

Some more updates from China now – its ministry of commerce says it hopes the US will “keep working with China” on trade.

It adds that tariff cuts are in the “common interest of the world”.

This deal will be welcomed internationallypublished at 09:01 British Summer Time

David Waddell
Business reporter

As US Treasury SecretaryScott Bessent admitted this morning, the tariffs in place amounted to a defacto “trade embargo” between the world’s two biggest economies.

US tariffs onChinese imports? 145%.

Chinese tariffs on the USA? 125%.

Those tariffs will nowbe reduced to more workable levels for an initial 90-day period. It’s a boostto the two protagonists involved.

But – in an interconnected world that continuesto rely on strong US demand – this rapprochement will be welcomedinternationally.

The rest of the world could not afford trade between the US and China to grind to a halt altogether.

A joint statement on the deal confirms the 90-day pause will begin on 14 May.

It also says both countries will “establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations”.

Scott Bessent will represent the US, while vice premier He Lifeng will represent the Chinese government.

The further talks may be held in the US, China, or an agreed third-party nation.

Theo Leggett
International business correspondent

After several months in which trade tensions between the US and China have escalated rapidly, this was the first sign of a thawing of relations, with the US delegation claiming they had found a constructive path forward.

Ahead of today’s announcement the US tariff on most Chinese imports stood at 145%. That will now be reduced to 30% for the next 90 days.

China has reduced its own duties on US goods from 125% to 10% for the same period.

The US measures still include an extra component aimed at putting pressure on Beijing to do more to curb the illegal trade in fentanyl, a powerful opioid drug.

But US officials said they had been positively surprised by the willingness of China to deal with the problem.

“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause,” says US Treasury Scott Bessent, who was negotiating with China in Geneva.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has risen sharply at the tariffs announcement.

The index is up by 3.4% as of 08:30 BST (15:30 local time).

The UK’s FTSE 100 index is also up since opening at 08:00 BST, by 0.7%.

Oil prices have also risen, with the value of Brent Crude – a key indicator of oil prices generally – up by 2.8%.

We’re waiting for more details on the new tariffs – but, as we’ve reported, Scott Bessent says each side will cut their tariffs by 115%.

The current US tariff on Chinese imports is 145% – while China charges a 125% tariff on some US goods.

So today’s news means the rates should fall to 30% and 10% – but we’re yet to see that confirmed.

China’s commerce ministry confirms the suspension of “all tariff countermeasures” taken against the US since 2 April, Reuters reports.

Bessent says after “robust” discussions, the US and China have agreed a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs, meaning both sides will reduce their tariffs by 115%.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking in Geneva, has just announced an agreement on tariffs between the US and China. We’ll have more details in our following posts.