US axes tariffs on China goods

The United States and China yesterday announced a major thaw in their trade war, including immediate cuts to punishing import tariffs, but a lack of detail left markets cautious.

“We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China,” President Donald Trump tweeted after officials in Beijing made a similar announcement.

The news could be a boon to Trump, who has made trade wars a keystone of his foreign policy, just as a congressional committee set up a full vote on his impeachment next week for alleged abuse of office.

After multiple false dawns in the tussle between the world’s top two economies, which Trump launched in March 2018, investors were at least relieved that he canceled a new round of tariffs due to kick in tomorrow (Sunday).

Those levies, which would have hit consumer electronics like cell phones and computers, “will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal,” Trump tweeted.

In a major concession, Washington will slash in half the 15 percent tariffs imposed on $120 billion in Chinese goods, like clothing, that were imposed September 1 and had a bigger impact on American shoppers than previous rounds.

But Trump said existing tariffs of 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese imports would stay in place pending further negotiations on a second phase deal.