Following talks in Geneva, the Trump administration is dropping the import tariff on Chinese goods from 145% to just 30%. Switzerland also received high praise as the venue and host for the negotiations.
Following talks in Geneva between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, both sides are substantially lowering the reciprocal import tariffs. As Bessent announced at a media conference on Monday, the Trump administration is dropping the punitive levy from 145% to just 30%.
According to Bessent, China has reduced the import duty on US goods to 10%. However, the 90-day period until tougher tariffs come back into force on July 8 remains in force while both sides continue talks on a new trade agreement.
"Enlarging the cake"
The Chinese delegation announced that it had reached a "series of important agreements". The two sides had also agreed to set up a mechanism for economic and trade consultations, said He Lifeng, according to Chinese state media. Details would be worked out as soon as possible.
China and the USA also announced a joint declaration for this Monday. He described the talks in Switzerland at the weekend as "open and constructive". China is willing to "enlarge the cake of cooperation" and push forward trade relations with the US for new development in order to bring more stability to the global economy, He said.
He said the meeting in Geneva was an important step to resolve the differences through dialog and laid the foundation for deepening cooperation. On Monday, Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressly praised Switzerland as the venue for the negotiations and the Federal Council as the host.
The stock markets in the USA, Asia and Europe reacted positively to the results of the talks in Geneva. The major indices are advancing, yields on US government bonds are falling. Only shares in pharmaceutical companies fall, in some cases substantially. They are reacting to another piece of news, according to which Trump today per Dekret Medikamentenpreise in den USA stark senken will.
Is this the turning point?
Trade between the US and China is hardly profitable anymore due to the high tariffs and has therefore almost come to a standstill. Relations between the world's two largest economies have reached another low point since the escalation in the trade conflict in April. US President Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on goods from China. Beijing decided to impose counter-tariffs of 125% on US goods.
Both countries have so far tried to give the impression that they have the upper hand and do not need to take the first step to approach the other side. The talks in Geneva should now mark a turning point. Greer said at the end of the talks that common ground had been quickly established, suggesting that the differences were not as great as had been thought.
Chinese emphasize the importance of the WTO
As reported by Chinese state television, Vice Premier He, who had travelled to Switzerland to discuss economic and trade issues, also met the Director-General of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The Chinese national spoke with the Nigerian about the recent tariff negotiations with the USA. All sides should resolve disputes through dialog within the framework of the WTO, He reportedly said. China would continue to participate in the reform of the WTO.
- Article from FuW, 12.05.2025
So it's off today.
$NVDA (+4,58 %) should not have to write off the Chinese market. My shares and long calls are happy. $VWCE will enjoy it.
Edit: Oops - shares + crypto worth over 200k for the first time today, but around 20k Lombard loan outstanding - but this should be repaid by the savings portion and not sold. With 220k "real" over 200k ;-)
Happy investing
GG
