U.S. and China conclude two days of 'productive' trade talks, Bessent says

Dow Jones05-12

MW U.S. and China conclude two days of 'productive' trade talks, Bessent says

By Mike Murphy

The U.S. and China had "productive" trade negotiations over the weekend, U.S. officials said Sunday, without announcing any further details.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva after two days of talks concluded Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "substantial progress" had been made. "We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive," he said in a statement.

In the same statement, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer agreed that it was "a very constructive two days. It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought."

Also read: Stock-market bulls face inflation test this week, but trade talks may set the tone

No specific details of agreements were revealed, and China had no immediate statement on the talks.

The world's two largest economies are looking to unwind an escalating trade war, after President Donald Trump slapped 145% tariffs against Chinese goods. China responded with 125% tariffs against U.S.-made goods. On Friday, Trump floated the idea of bringing down China's tariff rate to 80%, which would likely still be hugely disruptive. Rand economist Gerard DiPippo said Friday in a social-media post that tariffs "must go below 60%" for a trade deal to succeed.

This is a developing report that will be updated.

-Mike Murphy

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2025 15:20 ET (19:20 GMT)

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U.S. and China conclude two days of 'productive' trade talks, Bessent says

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