China, US slash sweeping tariffs in trade war climbdown
Trump had upended international commerce with his sweeping tariffs across economies, and China has been especially hard hit.
Unwilling to budge, Beijing responded with retaliatory levies that brought new tariffs on both sides well over 100%.
After billions were wiped off equities and with businesses ailing, negotiations finally got under way at the weekend in Geneva between the world's trade superpowers to find a way out of the impasse.
Under the deal, the United States agreed to lower its new tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% while China will reduce its own to 10%, down by over 100 percentage points.
'No winners'
The reductions came into effect just after midnight Washington time (4.01am GMT) on Wednesday, a major de-escalation in trade tensions that saw US tariffs on Chinese imports soar to up to 145% and even as high as 245% on some products.
Washington also lowered duties on low-value imports from China that hit e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu.
Under Trump's order, such small parcels would be hit by duties of 54% of their value – down from 120% – or a $100 payment.
China said Wednesday it was suspending certain non-tariff countermeasures too.
Beijing's commerce ministry said it was halting for 90 days measures that put 28 US entities on an 'export control list' that bars firms from receiving items that could be used for both civilian and military purposes.
The ministry added in a separate statement that it was pausing measures which added 17 US entities to an 'unreliable entity list'. Companies on the list are prohibited from import and export activities or making new investments in China.
The suspension for 11 entities added on April 4 applies for 90 days, while the ministry did not specify the length of suspension for six others added on April 9.
Markets have rallied after the China-US tariff suspension.
Chinese officials have pitched themselves at a summit in Beijing with Latin American leaders this week as a stable partner and defender of globalisation.
'There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,' Chinese President Xi Jinping told leaders, including Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His top diplomat, Wang Yi, swiped at a 'major power' that believed 'might makes right'.
'Risk of renewed escalation'
Deep sources of tension remain – the US additional tariff rate is higher than China's because it includes a 20% levy over Trump's complaints about Chinese exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the fentanyl trade, something China denies.
Analysts warn that the possibility of tariffs returning after 90 days simply piles on more uncertainty.
'Further tariff reductions will be difficult and the risk of renewed escalation persists,' Yue Su, principal economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told AFP.
Trump's rollercoaster tariff row with Beijing has wreaked havoc on US companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing, with the temporary de-escalation only expected to partially calm the storm.
And Beijing officials have admitted that China's economy, already ailing from a protracted property crisis and sluggish consumer spending, is likewise being affected by trade uncertainty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
China: Immediately And Unconditionally Free Human Rights Defender Dr. Wang Bingzhang
Press Release – Fortify Rights Eight Parliamentarians Urge U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy to call for the release of Dr. Wang Bingzhang (LONDON, June 3, 2025)–The People's Republic of China should immediately and unconditionally free Chinese human rights defender Dr. Wang Bingzhang, said Fortify Rights today, on the eve of the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy protesters in 1989. In a letter to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, eight British Parliamentarians call for the release Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who was abducted in Vietnam in 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment in China for his pro-democracy activities. He has spent 23 years in solitary confinement. Now aged 77, concerns are growing about Dr. Wang's physical and mental health. 'We warmly welcome these initiatives by British Parliamentarians to highlight the appalling case of Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who has endured solitary confinement in a Chinese jail for 23 years and whose abduction from Vietnam and forced rendition to China is widely recognised as arbitrary and in violation of international law,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Governments worldwide should condemn this egregious case of transnational repression.' On June 27, 2002, Dr. Wang was in Mong Cai, a city in Vietnam bordering China, meeting Chinese labor activists. A group of men reportedly accosted him and forced him into a waiting van, which then transported him by boat to China. The Guangxi Public Security Bureau then took him into custody, and he was later charged with 'offenses of espionage' and 'the conduct of terrorist activities.' He was tried by the Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen, and sentenced to life imprisonment. His trial lasted only half a day and was closed to the public, and he was denied the right to due process, access to a lawyer, and a fair trial. Eight U.K. Parliamentarians have written to the British Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week to ask him and all U.K. ministers and officials to raise Dr. Wang's case with the Chinese government and call for his immediate release. The letter urges the U.K. government 'at every opportunity, public and private, to call on the government of the People's Republic of China to release Dr Wang Bingzhang and permit his return to the United States to be reunited with his family, immediately and unconditionally.' The Parliamentarians include the Chair of the U.K. Parliament's Joint Human Rights Committee Lord Alton of Liverpool, the Director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) on the Uyghurs and Hong Kong Blair McDougall MP, the Chair of the APPG on International Freedom of Religion or Belief Jim Shannon MP, and Luke Taylor MP, urge the Foreign Secretary also to consult and coordinate with the United States, where he lived for over twenty years and where his family still resides. Dr. Wang's family members welcome the support from British Parliamentarians. In a statement provided to Fortify Rights on May 26, his daughters Qingyan and Tianan Wang, his son Times Wang, his brother Bingwu Wang, and his sisters Jinhuan, Yuhua and Mei Wang, said: We are the family of Wang Bingzhang. Every June 27th is a very sad day for us because this is the day when our relative Wang Bingzhang was illegally abducted from Vietnam to China by the Chinese government. Later Wang Bingzhang was illegally sentenced to life imprisonment by China and lost his freedom forever. For 23 years, countries in the world with freedom democracy human rights and rule of law have long spoken out for Wang Bingzhang's freedom. Today we see British MPs speaking out for Wang Bingzhang again, calling on the Chinese government to release Wang Bingzhang. We believe that this voice of justice will spread throughout the world. Thank you to the British people for their call for justice! Blair McDougall MP and Lord Alton have also recently tabled written Parliamentary Questions in the House of Commons and House of Lords, respectively, and Jim Shannon MP has tabled an Early Day Motion on the case. Dr. Wang is an internationally respected leader of the overseas Chinese pro-democracy movement and a distinguished medical practitioner. He founded China Spring, a publication Time magazine described as 'the voice of a movement among Chinese inside and outside the country to restore democracy and resume liberal reforms begun by Deng Xiaoping in 1978 and discontinued in 1980.' He later founded the Chinese Alliance for Democracy, and in May 2024, he was honoured with Freedom House's Freedom Award. In 2003, soon after his unfair trial resulting in a life sentence, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that 'the detention of Wang Bingzhang is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.' Under international law, arrest and detention are unlawful when individuals are engaging in a protected activity, such as exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Dr. Wang's family continue to pursue his release, having recently established a new alliance to free Wang Bingzhang. Although Dr. Wang is permitted to receive one visit per month from immediate family members, lasting only 30-40 minutes, monitored by prison guards, his family members have been unable to obtain visas to enter China as a result of their advocacy on his behalf which puts them at risk of being detained and jailed as well if they travel to China. The most recent visit Dr. Wang received was from his youngest sister Mei Wang, in May 2024. She reported that he was in very poor physical and mental health. 'At Fortify Rights, we are deeply concerned about Dr. Wang's continued imprisonment, and add our support to his family's campaign for his release,' said Benedict Rogers. ' After 23 years in solitary confinement, it is vital that Dr. Wang's case is not forgotten. We call on China to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Wang, and on the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the international community to do everything possible to put pressure on China to free him.'
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
China: Immediately And Unconditionally Free Human Rights Defender Dr. Wang Bingzhang
(LONDON, June 3, 2025)–The People's Republic of China should immediately and unconditionally free Chinese human rights defender Dr. Wang Bingzhang, said Fortify Rights today, on the eve of the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy protesters in 1989. In a letter to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, eight British Parliamentarians call for the release Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who was abducted in Vietnam in 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment in China for his pro-democracy activities. He has spent 23 years in solitary confinement. Now aged 77, concerns are growing about Dr. Wang's physical and mental health. 'We warmly welcome these initiatives by British Parliamentarians to highlight the appalling case of Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who has endured solitary confinement in a Chinese jail for 23 years and whose abduction from Vietnam and forced rendition to China is widely recognised as arbitrary and in violation of international law,' said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. 'Governments worldwide should condemn this egregious case of transnational repression.' On June 27, 2002, Dr. Wang was in Mong Cai, a city in Vietnam bordering China, meeting Chinese labor activists. A group of men reportedly accosted him and forced him into a waiting van, which then transported him by boat to China. The Guangxi Public Security Bureau then took him into custody, and he was later charged with 'offenses of espionage' and 'the conduct of terrorist activities.' He was tried by the Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen, and sentenced to life imprisonment. His trial lasted only half a day and was closed to the public, and he was denied the right to due process, access to a lawyer, and a fair trial. Eight U.K. Parliamentarians have written to the British Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week to ask him and all U.K. ministers and officials to raise Dr. Wang's case with the Chinese government and call for his immediate release. The letter urges the U.K. government 'at every opportunity, public and private, to call on the government of the People's Republic of China to release Dr Wang Bingzhang and permit his return to the United States to be reunited with his family, immediately and unconditionally.' The Parliamentarians include the Chair of the U.K. Parliament's Joint Human Rights Committee Lord Alton of Liverpool, the Director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) on the Uyghurs and Hong Kong Blair McDougall MP, the Chair of the APPG on International Freedom of Religion or Belief Jim Shannon MP, and Luke Taylor MP, urge the Foreign Secretary also to consult and coordinate with the United States, where he lived for over twenty years and where his family still resides. Dr. Wang's family members welcome the support from British Parliamentarians. In a statement provided to Fortify Rights on May 26, his daughters Qingyan and Tianan Wang, his son Times Wang, his brother Bingwu Wang, and his sisters Jinhuan, Yuhua and Mei Wang, said: We are the family of Wang Bingzhang. Every June 27th is a very sad day for us because this is the day when our relative Wang Bingzhang was illegally abducted from Vietnam to China by the Chinese government. Later Wang Bingzhang was illegally sentenced to life imprisonment by China and lost his freedom forever. For 23 years, countries in the world with freedom democracy human rights and rule of law have long spoken out for Wang Bingzhang's freedom. Today we see British MPs speaking out for Wang Bingzhang again, calling on the Chinese government to release Wang Bingzhang. We believe that this voice of justice will spread throughout the world. Thank you to the British people for their call for justice! Blair McDougall MP and Lord Alton have also recently tabled written Parliamentary Questions in the House of Commons and House of Lords, respectively, and Jim Shannon MP has tabled an Early Day Motion on the case. Dr. Wang is an internationally respected leader of the overseas Chinese pro-democracy movement and a distinguished medical practitioner. He founded China Spring, a publication Time magazine described as 'the voice of a movement among Chinese inside and outside the country to restore democracy and resume liberal reforms begun by Deng Xiaoping in 1978 and discontinued in 1980.' He later founded the Chinese Alliance for Democracy, and in May 2024, he was honoured with Freedom House's Freedom Award. In 2003, soon after his unfair trial resulting in a life sentence, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that 'the detention of Wang Bingzhang is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.' Under international law, arrest and detention are unlawful when individuals are engaging in a protected activity, such as exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Dr. Wang's family continue to pursue his release, having recently established a new alliance to free Wang Bingzhang. Although Dr. Wang is permitted to receive one visit per month from immediate family members, lasting only 30-40 minutes, monitored by prison guards, his family members have been unable to obtain visas to enter China as a result of their advocacy on his behalf which puts them at risk of being detained and jailed as well if they travel to China. The most recent visit Dr. Wang received was from his youngest sister Mei Wang, in May 2024. She reported that he was in very poor physical and mental health. 'At Fortify Rights, we are deeply concerned about Dr. Wang's continued imprisonment, and add our support to his family's campaign for his release,' said Benedict Rogers. ' After 23 years in solitary confinement, it is vital that Dr. Wang's case is not forgotten. We call on China to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Wang, and on the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the international community to do everything possible to put pressure on China to free him.'
1News
7 hours ago
- 1News
Trump says Musk has 'lost his mind' as Republicans urge end to feud
As the Republican Party braces for aftershocks from President Donald Trump's spectacular clash with Elon Musk, lawmakers and conservative figures are urging détente, fearful of the potential consequences from a prolonged feud. At a minimum, the explosion of animosity between the two powerful men could complicate the path forward for Republicans' massive tax and border spending legislation that has been promoted by Trump but assailed by Musk. 'I hope it doesn't distract us from getting the job done that we need to,' said Representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state. "I think that it will boil over and they'll mend fences' Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, was similarly optimistic. 'I hope that both of them come back together because when the two of them are working together, we'll get a lot more done for America than when they're at cross purposes,' he told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, sounded almost pained on social media as Trump and Musk volleyed insults at each other, sharing a photo composite of the two men and writing, "But … I really like both of them'. 'Who else really wants @elonmusk and @realDonaldTrump to reconcile?' Lee posted, later adding: 'Repost if you agree that the world is a better place with the Trump-Musk bromance fully intact.' So far, the feud between Trump and Musk is probably best described as a moving target, with plenty of opportunities for escalation or detente. President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House. (Source: Associated Press) One person familiar with the president's thinking said Musk wants to speak with Trump, but that the president doesn't want to do it – or at least do it on Saturday. The person requested anonymity to disclose private matters. In a series of conversations with television anchors Saturday, Trump showed no interest in burying the hatchet. Asked on ABC News about reports of a potential call between him and Musk, the president responded: 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Trump added in the ABC interview that he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to Musk at the moment. ADVERTISEMENT Still, others remained hopeful that it all would blow over. 'I grew up playing hockey, and there wasn't a single day that we played hockey or basketball or football or baseball, whatever we were playing, where we didn't fight. And then we'd fight, then we'd become friends again,' Hannity said on his show Friday. Acknowledging that it 'got personal very quick', Hannity nonetheless added that the rift was 'just a major policy difference'. House Speaker Mike Johnson projected confidence that the dispute would not affect prospects for the tax and border bill. 'Members are not shaken at all,' the Louisiana Republican said. 'We're going to pass this legislation on our deadline.' He added that he hopes Musk and Trump reconcile, saying 'I believe in redemption' and 'it's good for the party and the country if all that's worked out'. But he also had something of a warning for the billionaire entrepreneur. ADVERTISEMENT 'I'll tell you what, do not doubt and do not second-guess and don't ever challenge the president of the United States, Donald Trump,' Johnson said. "He is the leader of the party. He's the most consequential political figure of this generation and probably the modern era.'
