We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and have made significant reductions in tariff levels, says US Finance Minister Scott Bessent at a press conference in Geneva.
We had a plan. We have a process going on. And now, together with the Chinese, we have a mechanism for further talks, he adds.
New Meeting?
Bessent says further that none of the countries want to create a wall of tariffs that stops all trade between them.
We want trade. We want more balanced trade. I believe both sides are committed to achieving that.
Shortly after, the Finance Minister says in an interview with CNBC that talks with China are likely to resume soon.
I can imagine that we will meet sometime in the coming weeks to come up with a more comprehensive agreement, says Scott Bessent to the TV channel.
He adds that details about a future meeting, such as where it will be held, are not yet clear.
"Mutual Respect"
Earlier on Monday, Bloomberg, among others, had reported that the US is reducing tariffs on China from 145 to 30 percent for 90 days. China, in turn, is reducing tariffs on US goods from 125 to 10 percent during the same period.
The aim is, according to identical statements from Washington DC and Beijing after the weekend's negotiations in Geneva, to create time to settle the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies.
At the press conference in Geneva, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the talks on tariffs had been characterized by "mutual understanding and mutual respect".
US Finance Minister Scott Bessent later also commented on the level of tariffs and where it may land. He said it is "unlikely" that the mutual tariffs will land lower than 10 percent.
