US, China agree to roll back tariffs to 10% – but only for 90 days
(2025/05/12)
- Reference: 1747058475
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/05/12/us_china_tariff_pause/
- Source link:
world war fee The impending disaster of trade-freezing tariffs on Chinese imports to the US has been averted, but like a Chinese cargo ship anchored off the coast of California, it's not gone entirely.
Chinese and US officials issued a joint [1]statement Monday morning informing the world that, despite mutually assured tariff threats as high as [2]245 percent on some Chinese imports to the US, and [3]125 percent tariffs flowing in the opposite direction, trade relations between the two countries have never been better.
"Recognizing the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship," both countries have agreed to ditch the trade war escalation, leaving tariffs from both nations on the other at 10 percent – but only for 90 days.
[4]
Trump's April 2 [5]executive order 14257 , which added a 24 percent tariff on Chinese goods on top of a 10 percent tariff [6]imposed in February , could go back into effect on August 10 if further agreements aren't made between the US and China. A similar 24 percent tariff order issued by the Chinese government in response to Trump's April 2 order would also go back into effect in 90 days, according to the joint statement.
[7]
[8]
All that other trade war ratcheting via Trump's executive orders [9]14259 and [10]14266 , and China's countervailing orders, appear to have been scrapped entirely based on the joint statement. We've asked the White House for clarification on whether the additional tariffs imposed on China were still on the table, but we didn't receive a response before publication.
Sigh of relief?
The joint statement is likely to be good news for US consumers worried about facing [11]bare shelves and for American ports that have noted a considerable [12]slowdown in traffic, but whether they'll change things for the tech industry is another matter altogether.
[13]Tech tariff turmoil continues as Trump admin exempts some electronics, then promises to bring taxes back
[14]US to slap up to 3,521% tariffs on SE Asian solar imports – especially you, Cambodia
[15]As US scientists flee Trump, MP urges Britain to do more to nab them
[16]Siri? Will tariffs hurt Apple? Tim Cook says brace for a $900M whack, for starters
Trump's trade war on China, where much of the world's tech is made, has put the IT industry in a state of limbo, with [17]projects frozen due to budget uncertainty and potential hardware unavailability, and [18]tech hiring threatened for the same reason. Experts have warned that tariffs and trade threats could put the US [19]behind in the global AI arms race . Small businesses in a [20]variety of industries have been harmed as well.
A 90-day pause may put products back on shelves for the time being, but whether expensive IT investments and job markets will recover is far less certain. We've contacted some experts for comment, but didn't immediately hear back.
Trump admitted late last month that he didn't expect tariffs on China to actually [21]remain as high as he had pushed them, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that months of inflammatory, market-pummeling rhetoric has suddenly ended following [22]public blowback to austerity measures proposed by a self-declared billionaire. Markets have [23]bounced back on the news – and that's long been one of Trump's [24]markers of [25]success , after all.
[26]
We'll see how the rhetoric changes once the markets recover. ®
Get our [27]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/joint-statement-on-u-s-china-economic-and-trade-meeting-in-geneva/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/white_house_china_tariff/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/11/china_tariffs_latest/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14257-regulating-imports-with-reciprocal-tariff-rectify-trade-practices
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/04/china_trump_google/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14259-amendment-reciprocal-tariffs-and-updated-duties-applied-low-value
[10] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14266-modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-reflect-trading-partner
[11] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-china-products-tariffs-shortages-us/
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/los-angeles-ports-trump-tariffs
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/tech_tariff_update/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/22/us_solar_cells_tariffs/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/09/uk_draws_us_scientists/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/02/apple_q2_2025/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/trump_trade_war_jefferies/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/18/us_tech_jobs_outlook/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/abi_trump_tariffs_datacenter/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/26/game_makers_small_businesses_sue_tariffs/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/23/us_china_tariff_reduction_plan/
[22] https://apnews.com/article/trump-two-dolls-tariffs-toys-7b0e5d3a9035471317e6dc4ee1fbfbc1
[23] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/view-us-china-agree-cut-tariffs-90-day-pause-2025-05-12/
[24] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-loves-talk-stock-market/story?id=59652104
[25] https://apnews.com/article/trumps-comments-about-stock-market-dba336a82ffaf000b80e7218d749995a
[26] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[27] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Chinese and US officials issued a joint [1]statement Monday morning informing the world that, despite mutually assured tariff threats as high as [2]245 percent on some Chinese imports to the US, and [3]125 percent tariffs flowing in the opposite direction, trade relations between the two countries have never been better.
"Recognizing the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship," both countries have agreed to ditch the trade war escalation, leaving tariffs from both nations on the other at 10 percent – but only for 90 days.
[4]
Trump's April 2 [5]executive order 14257 , which added a 24 percent tariff on Chinese goods on top of a 10 percent tariff [6]imposed in February , could go back into effect on August 10 if further agreements aren't made between the US and China. A similar 24 percent tariff order issued by the Chinese government in response to Trump's April 2 order would also go back into effect in 90 days, according to the joint statement.
[7]
[8]
All that other trade war ratcheting via Trump's executive orders [9]14259 and [10]14266 , and China's countervailing orders, appear to have been scrapped entirely based on the joint statement. We've asked the White House for clarification on whether the additional tariffs imposed on China were still on the table, but we didn't receive a response before publication.
Sigh of relief?
The joint statement is likely to be good news for US consumers worried about facing [11]bare shelves and for American ports that have noted a considerable [12]slowdown in traffic, but whether they'll change things for the tech industry is another matter altogether.
[13]Tech tariff turmoil continues as Trump admin exempts some electronics, then promises to bring taxes back
[14]US to slap up to 3,521% tariffs on SE Asian solar imports – especially you, Cambodia
[15]As US scientists flee Trump, MP urges Britain to do more to nab them
[16]Siri? Will tariffs hurt Apple? Tim Cook says brace for a $900M whack, for starters
Trump's trade war on China, where much of the world's tech is made, has put the IT industry in a state of limbo, with [17]projects frozen due to budget uncertainty and potential hardware unavailability, and [18]tech hiring threatened for the same reason. Experts have warned that tariffs and trade threats could put the US [19]behind in the global AI arms race . Small businesses in a [20]variety of industries have been harmed as well.
A 90-day pause may put products back on shelves for the time being, but whether expensive IT investments and job markets will recover is far less certain. We've contacted some experts for comment, but didn't immediately hear back.
Trump admitted late last month that he didn't expect tariffs on China to actually [21]remain as high as he had pushed them, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that months of inflammatory, market-pummeling rhetoric has suddenly ended following [22]public blowback to austerity measures proposed by a self-declared billionaire. Markets have [23]bounced back on the news – and that's long been one of Trump's [24]markers of [25]success , after all.
[26]
We'll see how the rhetoric changes once the markets recover. ®
Get our [27]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/joint-statement-on-u-s-china-economic-and-trade-meeting-in-geneva/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/white_house_china_tariff/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/11/china_tariffs_latest/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14257-regulating-imports-with-reciprocal-tariff-rectify-trade-practices
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/04/china_trump_google/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14259-amendment-reciprocal-tariffs-and-updated-duties-applied-low-value
[10] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14266-modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-reflect-trading-partner
[11] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-china-products-tariffs-shortages-us/
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/los-angeles-ports-trump-tariffs
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/tech_tariff_update/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/22/us_solar_cells_tariffs/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/09/uk_draws_us_scientists/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/02/apple_q2_2025/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/trump_trade_war_jefferies/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/18/us_tech_jobs_outlook/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/abi_trump_tariffs_datacenter/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/26/game_makers_small_businesses_sue_tariffs/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/23/us_china_tariff_reduction_plan/
[22] https://apnews.com/article/trump-two-dolls-tariffs-toys-7b0e5d3a9035471317e6dc4ee1fbfbc1
[23] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/view-us-china-agree-cut-tariffs-90-day-pause-2025-05-12/
[24] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-loves-talk-stock-market/story?id=59652104
[25] https://apnews.com/article/trumps-comments-about-stock-market-dba336a82ffaf000b80e7218d749995a
[26] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aCIbHFU4pQx-mygyLkll_wAAAdg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[27] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Dan 55
That's because:
10% is to replace income tax. Really it's a hidden sales tax and therefore a regressive tax which hits the poorest hardest and will drive up inflation.
20% is for fentanyl.
0% is to restore US manufacturing.
Fentanyl from China....
Joe Gurman
....has been dropping steadily for years, as has the number of overdose deaths due to it. This is political theater for the benefit of the Felon-in-Chief's base.
Mouthy American blinks and backs down...
Anonymous Coward
...when the people who actually voted for him on the basis of that are faced with actually having the supply of cheap Chinese tat they've become addicted to for decades turned off.
People who are finding out that the prospect of having to put their money where their equally noisy and ignorant mouths are isn't as easy as their orange god told them it would be and might start turning against him if *they're* affected.
Trade wars aren't "easy to win" and the puffed-up Trump voter base gets upset and fold as soon as that becomes obvious and the consequences of his ill-planned-out BS might lose them their Christmas tat and/or jerbs?
Who could have predicted this? Well, anyone with half a brain. And China, who knew they could hold their breath longer than the easily-dissatisfied man-children of the other side.
(Not a fan of China either, but it says a lot that they come out of this looking better when they really shouldn't).
Filippo
I'd like to hear from the posters who said that the high tariffs would be effective in bringing manufacturing back to the USA, but I won't hold my breath.
Er....
Joe Gurman
Isn't the US only reducing tariffs to 30% for the 90 days? Or until the Felon-in-Chief has another temper tantrum?
If high tariffs will stop the fentanyl, replace the income tax, and restore US manufacturing, why is he lowering them?