Trump Says U.S. Strikes Trade Deal With China
President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. and China had reached a trade agreement after two days of negotiations in London. Tariffs between the world’s two biggest economies will remain at levels set during last month’s talks in Switzerland.
Asked by CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla if the tariff levels would not change, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “you can definitely say that.”
It comes as the U.S. continues to negotiate trade deals with 18 trading partners.
INSIDE U.S.-CHINA NEGOCIATIONS
“We were at mutual assured annoyance,” Lutnick said. “Then Donald Trump got on the phone with President Xi and he changed everything.” Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke last week, the first call since the start of Trump’s second term.
Rewind: The U.S. will apply a total of 55% tariffs on most Chinese goods — which it agreed to in Switzerland in mid-May.
That 55% figure represents the 10% global baseline tariffs Trump implemented in April, plus the extra 20% tariff he put on China earlier this year over fentanyl exports, plus the long-standing 25% tariffs on the country under Section 301 trade rules.
Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods will hold at 10% — a 115% cut from previous levels for both countries.
While it’s what the two nations agreed on, in the weeks following the talks, U.S. officials accused China of “slow-rolling” the shipment of rare earth minerals and magnets. In response, the U.S. began implementing “countermeasures,” including Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the U.S. would “aggressively” revoke Chinese student visas. Now, Lutnick says, China will export critical rare earth minerals and magnets ASAP.
Up next: July 9 is the deadline for finalizing trade agreements between the U.S. and the European Union to avoid triggering a 50% tariff on European imports.
