The United States and China will suspend for 90 days some of the punitive customs duties they have imposed after US President Donald Trump declared a trade war against the world's second-largest economy, according to a joint statement.
The suspension is set to take effect "from today until May 14," the announcement states.
According to the joint statement, the US will temporarily reduce tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30%, while China will proceed with a reduction from 125% to 10%.
The suspension is set to take effect "from today until May 14," the announcement states.
A rally in the stock markets is expected
Oil prices jumped 3% after the announcement of the US-China agreement to suspend the imposition of customs duties for 90 days.
The Hong Kong stock market also jumped 3,34%.
At the same time, the two countries declare their intention to continue bilateral talks through a new negotiation mechanism for economic and trade relations, in a development that is expected to lead to a rally in financial markets worldwide.
Scott Bessant, US Treasury Secretary, confirmed from Geneva that significant progress has been made in US-China negotiations and the US will continue to work towards balanced international trade.
According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, China was the only country that chose to impose tariffs in response to US tariffs, but now there is a clear intention to stop the confrontation.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce made similar statements, while the simultaneous announcement shows complete agreement at this level.
"Significant progress"
The announcement comes after a weekend of marathon trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, between officials from the world's two largest economies.
It is recalled that yesterday, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng declared that "significant progress" had been achieved in the negotiations that the US and China had in Geneva, on the thorny issue of tariffs. He said that the talks were "serious, in-depth and constructive."
Earlier, the US had also spoken of "substantial progress" in the talks.
