U.S. and PRC agree to put on pause 24 % customs tariff

China and the United States have agreed to suspend the 24 percent customs tariff from May 14. RIA Novosti reported with reference to CCTV.

On May 10-11, the two sides held high-level talks on trade and economic issues in Geneva. He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, acted as Beijing's coordinator, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acted as Washington's coordinator.

At the talks, the delegations agreed that they would waive the 24 percent tariff for the initial 90-day period, while retaining the 10 percent tariff.

To implement these measures, the states will waive additional tariffs on goods imposed under Decree No. 14259 of April 8 and Decree No. 14266 of April 9. The PRC will waive tariffs on goods adopted by Decrees No. 4 and No. 5 of the Tariffication and Classification Committee of the State Council in 2025. Beijing will also suspend or cancel non-tariff countermeasures applied against the U.S. since April 2.

The statement also said the countries will set up a mechanism to continue negotiations on trade and economic relations.

China and the United States are in a trade war, which erupted after White House President Donald Trump imposed a 10% duty on imports of all goods from China in February. In March, it was raised to 20%, Beijing responded with tariffs on imports of American agricultural products.

A new round of escalation occurred after Washington imposed reciprocal duties on imports from other countries; a rate of 54% was imposed on China. Now it has reached 145%, and the tariff for American suppliers to the Celestial Empire is 125%.