Trump Cuts China Tariffs to 47% After Meeting Xi

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had agreed to reduce tariffs on China to 47% in exchange for Beijing resuming U.S. soybean purchases, keeping rare earth exports flowing, and cracking down on the illicit trade of fentanyl, Trevor Hunnicutt reported for Reuters.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the APEC summit, lasted nearly two hours. (Photo: Daniel Torok, The White House Flickr) 

His remarks came after face-to-face talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the South Korean city of Busan — their first meeting since 2019.

“I thought it was an amazing meeting,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing Busan, adding that tariffs imposed on Chinese imports would be cut to 47% from 57%, Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom also reported for Reuters.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, lasted nearly two hours. Trump shook hands with Xi and escorted him to his car before receiving a red carpet send-off at the airport.

Global stock trading was choppy as Trump revealed details of the deal, with major Asian indexes and European futures swinging between gains and losses.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped from a 10-year high, while U.S. soybean futures weakened.

World stock markets — from Wall Street to Tokyo — had hit record highs leading up to the meeting on hopes of a breakthrough in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, which has upended supply chains and shaken global business confidence, David Lawder and Daphne Psaledakis reported for Reuters.