Countries to lower reciprocal tariffs by 115% as US treasury secretary says ‘neither side wants a decoupling’

Countries to lower reciprocal tariffs by 115% as US treasury secretary says ‘neither side wants a decoupling’

China and the US have agreed a 90-day pause to the deepening trade war that has threatened to upend the global economy, with reciprocal tariffs to be lowered by 115%.

The 90-day lowering of tariffs applies to the duties announced by Donald Trump on 2 April, which ultimately escalated to 125% on Chinese imports, with Beijing responding with equivalent measures.

China also imposed non-tariff measures, such as restricting the export of critical minerals that are essential to US manufacturing of hi-tech goods.

  • TheTechnician27English
    15•4 days ago

    blame will still be placed on the war.

    Yes, it will, and to a large extent rightly so. I’d hope you understand that this insane fucking whiplash means the following:

    1. Logistics have been made more complicated and therefore expensive.
    2. Some companies have probably already made expensive changes based on this that can no longer be turned back.
    3. Companies (especially small businesses) now feel like they have to “make hay while the Sun shines”, i.e. make money while Trump isn’t tarrifing our biggest source of imports at a gajillity-billion percent. This way they don’t go bankrupt the next time Trump decides to collapse the economy from his phone on the toilet. (EDIT: And to be clear, Trump himself is explicitly saying he will 90 days from now. No remotely stable business is going to say "oh, okay, we’ll just make all of our financial decisions based on this three-month window of quasi-normalcy and not account for the indefinite period of fuckery that’s all but certain to follow.)
    4. Consumers (correctly) being worried over this means they’re (correctly) less likely to buy product. If businesses want to stay in business, they either need to downsize or sell each item for more.
    5. EDIT: China also isn’t our only trading partner. Exorbitant new tariffs on other countries still exist and still massively impact prices.

    I’m 100% certain there are things I’m failing to consider here. Trump moved past the point on the curve where deformation can be considered elastic.

    • @Kroxx@lemm.ee
      7•5 days ago

      I work in a factory in R&D, we are planning a factory out. What you are saying is absolutely true. After a certain point the tariff walk backs are irrelevant because big purchases have already been made which locks the choice in. This point has already been hit and upper management, hell honestly even vendor we talk to, has zero confidence in how everything will play out until trumps out of office.

    • flandish
      3•5 days ago

      i think your points are, indeed, completely on point. no pun intended. I think, on a long enough time scale, prices on consumer products will follow the same ever adapting and almost instantly changing formulas fuel prices have.