Summary

  • US President Donald Trump says the US has achieved a "total reset" in relations with China after both countries agreed to reduce tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days

  • Trump says that he expects to meet soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping - and has told reporters at the White House that he doesn't think tariffs on the country will reach the same heights as before

  • US markets have surged after the deal between Washington and Beijing, a major de-escalation in their trade war

  • Markets in the US are now trading at similar levels to the beginning of the year, our New York business reporter Natalie Sherman writes - marking a significant recovery since Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April

  • US tariffs on Chinese imports will fall from 145% to 30%, while Chinese tariffs on US goods will fall from 125% to 10%

  • It is a bigger cut than expected, writes our correspondent Theo Leggett - but 30% is still a high tariff

Media caption,

Watch: Trump says relations have been 'reset' with China

  1. US markets surge following US-China agreementpublished at 14:39 British Summer Time 12 May
    Breaking

    The bell has sounded on Wall Street and trading in the world's biggest economy is now open.

    Here's where the three main indexes are on opening:

    • S&P 500 - up 2.6%
    • Nasdaq - up 3.3%
    • Dow Jones - up 2.5%
  2. Chinese companies expect more tariff changespublished at 14:09 British Summer Time 12 May

    Chen Yan
    Reporting from Hong Kong

    Companies in China are preparing for more tariffs down the line, despite the 90-day pause announced earlier today.

    “To be honest, many Chinese companies no longer believe that tariffs will remain unchanged. For businesses, the best they can do is build a moat around their company before the next round of tariffs arrives,” said Elaine Li, head of Greater China at Atlas Ways, which offers services for Chinese enterprises’ global development.

    Elaine Li told BBC Chinese that for many Chinese exporters, the latest tariff reductions are only temporary.

    The rapid changes in tariffs led them to a more diversified global strategy, and they have already moved from getting orders passively to exploring international markets proactively. “It’s hard to wake someone who’s pretending to sleep, but it’s even harder to put someone to sleep when has just awakened.”

  3. Uncertainty remains, says EU Chamber of Commerce in Chinapublished at 13:56 British Summer Time 12 May

    Reacting to the 90-day pause in US-China tariffs, the European Chamber of Commerce in China says while it's "encouraged by the decision, uncertainty remains".

    "This is partly because certain tariffs have only been suspended for 90 days, and partly because of the erratic nature in which these tariffs were implemented in the first place," it says in a statement.

    It says it hopes to see both sides continue to engage in dialogue to "resolve differences, and avoid taking measures that will disrupt global trade and result in collateral damage for those caught in the cross-fire".

  4. 'Trump caves on China', says Democratic lawmakerpublished at 13:48 British Summer Time 12 May

    California congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, welcomed the Trump administration's US-China trade agreement but still snuck in a diss.

    "Just like I TOLD YOU. Trump caves on China," Swalwell wrote on X, re-posting a previous post of his from April that said "Trump will cave on tariffs".

    He attributed the temporary reduction in tariffs to pressure from Democrats, without going into detail.

    "Thank you! YOU went to the town halls and town squares. WE did this," he says.

    Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that both China and the US would lower their reciprocal tariffs by 115 percentage points for 90 days from 14 May, after the two countries held talks in Switzerland at the weekend.

  5. US stock markets to open shortlypublished at 13:32 British Summer Time 12 May

    In just under an hour, US stock markets will open, and our business editor Simon Jack says the S&P 500 is expected to open above the level it was the day before Trump's "Liberation Day".

    As we reported earlier, global stock markets have welcomed news of the agreement between the US and China to pause tariffs for 90 days.

    Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was still trading when the announcement was made, and jumped on the news, ending the day up 3%.

    European stock markets also saw a boost following the announcement.

    We'll bring you the latest once trading in the US is under way.

  6. Chinese exporter welcomes 'pleasant surprise' of US-China dealpublished at 13:28 British Summer Time 12 May

    Josh Martin
    BBC News

    "I'm glad sanity is back in style," says Tat Kei, a Chinese exporter of personal care appliances to the US, whose factory employs 200 people in Shenzhen.

    However, with the US still placing a 30% import tax on items arriving from China, he says prices will still rise for US customers, despite the tariffs truce.

    Tat Kei's still looking to move some production to south-east Asia.

    "President Trump is going to be here for the next 3.5 years. I don't think this is going to be the end of it...not by a long shot," he says.

    Tat Kei earlier spoke to the BBC World Service's Business Daily programme when the US and China were still engaging in tit-for-tat tariffs and most US-bound orders at his factories were cancelled.

  7. White House says deal is 'an extraordinary first step'published at 13:21 British Summer Time 12 May

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions from reporters in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 09 May 2025.Image source, EPA

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tells Fox News that the latest US-China agreement on trade was "an extraordinary first step in the right direction".

    China also agreed to "continue having discussions" about further opening its market to US products and goods, Leavitt says, and to "continue seriously discussing the grave impact that Chinese produced fentanyl is having" in the US.

    "President Trump will continue negotiations with China, so we can hopefully, inevitably get to a fair and comprehensive, big trade deal," she adds.

  8. US-China deal is full steam ahead for shipping companiespublished at 13:09 British Summer Time 12 May

    Jonathan Josephs
    Business reporter

    Shipping containers are stacked at a container terminal near the Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, USA, 08 May 2025Image source, epa

    This weekend’s trade agreement between the US and China is certainly good news for shipping companies.

    Remember, about 90% of global trade is moved by sea. Everything from clothes and toys to furniture and cars.

    The extraordinary tariffs had led to a collapse in the amount of goods being moved across the Pacific Ocean but investors sense that will rebound and that will mean more profits.

    Just two of the world’s five biggest shipping companies are traded on stock markets.

    And the direction of travel is clear, five hours into the European trading day Denmark’s Maersk is up more than 11.5% whilst Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd is up more than 13.5%.

    Both companies have welcomed the agreement with Maersk earlier saying “we hope it can lay the foundation for the parties to also reach a permanent deal that can create the long-term predictability our customers need”.

    Meanwhile Hapag-Lloyd says its now expecting an increase in bookings on sailings from China to the US and that might mean it uses larger ships than it had otherwise planned.

  9. How did we get here?published at 12:56 British Summer Time 12 May

    For those of you not steeped in global trade policy, here's a brief timeline of the events that led up to the 90-day pause in tariffs between the US and China:

    • 1 February: US President Donald Trump announces a 10% tariff rate on almost all Chinese goods entering the US
    • 4 February: China responds with various tariffs of 10-15% on certain US products
    • 4 March: Trump doubles the tariff rate on Chinese goods to 20%
    • 2 April: The US announces a further 34% tariff rate on Chinese imports, bringing the total to 54%. China responds with a 34% tariff on most US goods
    • 9 April: China says it will impose 84% tariffs on US goods from 10 April, up from 34%. Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs come into force, with China's tariffs revised to 84% - bringing the total to 104%. Trump later says tariffs on China will go up to 125%, which brings the total including the levy from February up to 145%
    • 11 April: Beijing increases its tariffs on goods from the US up to 125% and says it won't respond to further increases
    • 12 May: The US and China announce a 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs starting 14 May after holding trade talks in Switzerland. It will bring US tariffs on Chinese imports down from 145% to 30%, and Chinese tariffs on US goods will fall from 125% to 10%
  10. What could the tariff deal mean for TikTok?published at 12:46 British Summer Time 12 May

    Liv McMahon
    Technology reporter

    You may recall a law last year ordering TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app or see it banned in the US.

    Since then President Trump has extended the deadline twice to June 2025, leaving everyone wondering what is actually going on.

    The Chinese government would likely need to approve such a sale - which means it’s inevitable such a big sticking point between the US and China might have gotten muddled up in the trade talks.

    Trump told NBC News in May there were people ready to buy the app - but his tariffs had limited China’s ability to do business with the US.

    He said he believed TikTok would be a “very easy subject to solve” in a tariff deal.

    So a 90 day pause on tariffs – and pledges to continue trade discussions – may help secure a TikTok sale.

  11. US-China deal leaves Beijing 'psychologically stronger', says analystpublished at 12:23 British Summer Time 12 May

    Stuart Lau
    Live reporter

    Despite the US and China calling this a joint agreement, people in Beijing will interpret it as the Trump administration walking back from the tariffs, says Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

    "We are back to square one, now negotiating can begin. The outcome is uncertain but China is in a psychologically stronger position now than before," Oertel says.

    However, Oertel says "it's not really a deal yet" without seeing details on fresh commitments from Beijing on key issues like market access or expanded imports of US goods.

  12. What does this truce suggest about the future strategy of US tariffs?published at 12:11 British Summer Time 12 May

    Michael Race
    Business reporter

    That’s a question many will be pondering this morning as everyone digests the truce announcement between the world’s two biggest economies.

    Economists at Deutsche Bank have suggested the lowering of tariffs, and last week’s UK-US deal on them, means there’s both “a likely cap and floor” to Trump’s rates of 10 to 30%.

    “The UK has one of the least imbalanced relationships with the US and now has a universal tariff rate of 10%. China has one of the most imbalanced relationships and now has a tariff rate of 30,” says George Saravelos, head of FX research at the investment bank.

    “It is reasonable that these two numbers now set the bounds of where American tariffs will end up this year, a material increase in visibility from just last week.”

  13. What we've learned so far today about the US-China tariff dealpublished at 11:57 British Summer Time 12 May

    After months of tit-for-tat tariff measures, the US and China have announced a major reduction in levies against each other, albeit temporarily.

    It marks a de-escalation of the ongoing trade war between the two countries. Here's what we've learned so far today:

    • Both sides are set to slash tariffs - with US tariffs on Chinese products falling to 30% and China's reciprocal tariffs on the US falling to 10%
    • The changes will take effect on Wednesday and continue for 90 days - allowing time for both sides to ease tensions through negotiations, our business reporter Jonathan Josephs writes
    • Both sides have vowed to continue discussions on trade, with future talks to be held in either China, the US or a third country
    • The announcement has given stock markets a boost following major losses after Trump's initial "Liberation Day" tariff announcement
    • The US tariff of 30% is still high, writes our international business correspondent Theo Leggett, but analysts say that the amount will be "manageable"

    Update 8 July: This post was amended to delete a reference to the percentage reduction which was inaccurate

    A drone view shows shipping containers from China at the Port of Los AngelesImage source, Reuters
  14. Analysis

    World Trade Organization head welcomes 'significant step forward'published at 11:41 British Summer Time 12 May

    Jonathan Josephs
    Business reporter

    Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attends a press conference on WTO's 'Global Trade Outlook and Statistics - April 2025' at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 16 April 2025.Image source, EPA

    It’s interesting that these talks between the US and China happened in Geneva.

    Switzerland’s neutrality has long lent itself to helping solve major global problems and it is also home to the World Trade Organization (WTO) whose role is to draw up and enforce the rules of global trade.

    I understand that head of the WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been following the talks closely and spoke to Chinese Vice Premier He after the weekend meeting.

    In a statement she said she was “pleased with the positive outcome of the talks”, adding that they “mark a significant step forward and, we hope, bode well for the future”.

    She underlined how important that is for the entire global economy. Discussions on how to reform the WTO so that’s it better suited to the modern global economy have been going on for some time.

    The WTO has been warning that if the global economy were to split into two blocs it could result in a long-term reduction in global real GDP of nearly 7%.

  15. Markets back above 'liberation day' levelpublished at 11:21 British Summer Time 12 May

    Simon Jack
    Business editor

    The news that the US and China will roll back the majority of the swingeing tariffs imposed on each other, at least temporarily, has given stock markets a boost and seen the value of safe haven assets like gold fall.

    The benchmark S&P 500 share index in the US is now expected to open above the level it was the day before Donald Trump rocked the world financial system with a universal tariff of 10% and very steep so-called reciprocal tariffs on high exporting countries in Asia.

    The 90-day pause that was announced very quickly after markets - including the safe harbour of US government bonds - plunged saw markets recover just over half their losses.

    Those losses in US shares will have been fully reversed if markets open in the US at the level they have been trading overnight in Asia.

    But some investors are privately concerned that the bounce back in shares is overly optimistic given that trade still has, and will continue to have, significantly more friction, cost and risk.

  16. Shipping giant says US-China deal is 'a step in right direction'published at 11:10 British Summer Time 12 May

    Danish shipping giant Maersk says the US-China agreement to pause tariffs for 90 days is a step in the right direction.

    Shares in Maersk traded 12.9% higher as of 09:48 GMT (10:48 BST).

    The firm says it hopes the deal "can lay the foundation for the parties to also reach a permanent deal that can create the long-term predictability our customers need".

    "Right now, our customers have gotten 90 days of clarity with reduced tariffs, and we are working hard to help them make the best use of this window," it adds.

  17. US-China agreement is a ‘pleasant surprise’ for marketspublished at 10:48 British Summer Time 12 May

    Nick Edser
    Business reporter

    A financial data screen in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, 12 May 2025, shows the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index having advanced 30.06 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 2,607.33Image source, EPA

    Stock markets have welcomed news of the agreement between the US and China as investors hope that a global trade war can be averted.

    Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was still trading when the announcement was made, and jumped on the news, ending the day up 3%.

    European stock markets are also higher and early indications are that the main US stock markets will open up by more than 2%.

    Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, says the agreement is "a major breakthrough" as far as investors are concerned and has been welcomed "with open arms".

    “Some people thought the best-case outcome from the weekend’s discussions would be an agreement to simply keep talks going," he tells me.

    "Therefore, to have reached an initial deal so quickly and one that rolls back tariffs by a large amount is a pleasant surprise."

    Oil prices jumped on hopes that global growth will be boosted by the tariff agreement, and the price of benchmark Brent crude rose more than 3% to $64.14 a barrel.

    However, the price of gold fell 3% to $3,224.34 an ounce.

    The disruption caused by President Trump’s tariffs has helped the gold price to rise in recent weeks as it is seen as a safer asset in times of uncertainty.

  18. Analysis

    Are 90 days enough to address the long-term challenges?published at 10:27 British Summer Time 12 May

    Jonathan Josephs
    Business reporter

    Given the pace at which US President Donald Trump has upended the global economy with his trade war, 90 days might seem like a long time.

    It certainly gives US and Chinese negotiators a chance to ease the tensions that have cast a shadow over the global economy since he returned to office in January.

    However there were talks between the world's two biggest economies for most of Trump's first four-year term that brought limited success.

    Eventually a "Phase One Trade Deal" was agreed in January 2020 where China pledged to boost US imports by $200bn above 2017 levels and strengthen intellectual property rules.

    In return the US cut some tariffs. But China never manged to hits its purchasing targets - and there are still complaints about intellectual property protections.

    On top of which, in the years that followed, both sides added restrictions on trade with each other.

    The difficulty in overcoming their differences points to the more fundamental long-term conflict between the world's two biggest economies.

    China's economy is run with a lot of government direction and that sits uneasily with America's free market capitalism - and in particular the failings Trump has identified and is trying to address with his trade war.

  19. How tariffs have changed between the US and Chinapublished at 10:17 British Summer Time 12 May

    After multiple rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, the US and China have agreed a deal that will significantly cut import tariffs both sides have imposed on one another for a 90-day period.

    We've put together this graph showing how tariffs have changed since the trade war between the world's two largest economies began on 1 February:

    Line graph showing tariff rates imposed by the US and China over time. The US tariffs on China begins on 1 February at 10%, rises to 20% 3 March, around 55% on 2 April and 145% a few days later, the line then falls steeply on 12 May to 30% when the 90-day pause was introduced. China's line is 0% until 2 April when it rises to around 35%, the around 80% the a few days later and 125% the day after that, it then also falls sharply to 10% on 12 May.
  20. A look at the joint statement from the US and China on tradepublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 12 May

    We've been looking at the joint statement released by the US and China after their trade meeting in Geneva. Here's a summary of the deal:

    • The 90-day pause will come into effect from Wednesday, with the US reducing tariffs on China to 30%, down from 145%. China will reduce duties on US goods to 10%, down from 125%
    • Both countries will establish "a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations", spearheaded by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice premier He Lifeng
    • Future talks may be held in China or the United States, the statement adds
    • They acknowledge the "importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy"
    • The statement says both the US and China believe that "continued discussions have the potential to address the concerns of each side in their economic and trade relationship"
    • It adds that talks will move forward in the "spirit of mutual opening, continued communication, cooperation, and mutual respect"