US Says it Struck Trade Deal with China, Details to Follow on Monday

By Christiane Oelrich
dpa
(TNS)

Geneva (dpa) — The U.S. has reached a “deal” with China at trade dispute talks in Switzerland, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday, promising that details would be announced on Monday.

The Chinese side, led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, did not comment after concluding a second day of talks in Geneva.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month declared a “national emergency” because of the massive trade deficit with China, which amounts to $1.2 trillion, Greer noted.

“We are confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us work towards resolving that national emergency,” he said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was also in Geneva, said “substantial progress” had been made.

Trump had sparked an uproar by introducing 145% duties on Chinese goods. China responded with retaliatory tariffs of 125% on U.S. imports, sparking fears of a global trade war. Trump later floated the idea of cutting his 145% tariffs on China to 80%.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, right, shakes hands with Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter, center, next to Switzerland’s Economy Minister Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, left, during a bilateral meeting between Switzerland and the United States, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Trump said early on Sunday that the two sides had made “GREAT PROGRESS” on the first day of talks in Switzerland.

“Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business.”

Chinese state news agency Xinhua, a mouthpiece for the ruling Communist Party, wrote in a commentary on Sunday that if Washington really wanted to resolve trade disputes through dialogue, it must first address the damage its tariff-driven policies have caused to the global trading system, its own economy and its citizens.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that high tariffs on Chinese imports would reduce trade volumes, but called them the first step in broader trade negotiations and that Americans would benefit from the tough approach in the long-run.

“What the president’s tariff policy is, is let’s open all the markets in the world that have been closed to us. Let’s get that opportunity for Americans to export to them, let’s really, really help Americans export,” he said on CNN on Sunday.

Geneva is home to the World Trade Organization (WTO), where several countries, including the European Union, have announced complaints against U.S. tariffs. They argue that the surcharges violate WTO rules.