Trump slashes tariffs on China to 10%

On May 12, 2025, US President Trump said at the White House that the two sides have now agreed to reduce the tariffs imposed after April 2 to 10% for 90 days in order to continue negotiations on a wider range of structural issues during this period. At the same time, Trump said that he had no intention of hurting China, but hoped that China would open up to the United States. He also pointed out that tariffs on Chinese cars, steel, aluminum and medicines will continue to be maintained. China has also taken similar measures. China has canceled 91% of its tariffs on the United States, suspended 24% of the remaining 34% of tariffs for 90 days, and retained the remaining 10%. The US tariff on China has changed from 125% to 10%, and China’s tariff on the United States has also changed to 10%. If 20% of fentanyl is added, then the US tariff on China is 30%, and China’s tariff on the United States is 10%. Of course, the 20% of fentanyl can continue to be discussed. In this way, the tariff dispute between China and the United States has basically returned to the starting point. Both sides have reduced by 115%, which is a win-win situation. Even after the 90-day suspension period, it will be restored to 34% at most. In the long run, technological competition and geopolitical games will run through. The United States may adopt a step-by-step tariff reduction strategy, first canceling tariffs in some non-strategic areas, while maintaining high pressure in key areas such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.