基於重大貿易突破, 中美同意大幅降低關稅 (1/2)

 Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

US and China agree to drastically roll back tariffs in major trade breakthrough (1/2)

By Nectar Gan, Auzinea Bacon and Juliana Liu, CNN

Updated 5:54 AM EDT, Mon May 12, 2025

CNN

 —

The United States and China agreed Monday to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period, in a surprise breakthrough that has de-escalated a punishing trade war and buoyed global markets.

The announcement, which was made in a joint statement, comes after a weekend of marathon trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland by officials from the world’s two largest economies, during which both sides touted “substantial progress.”

Both sides recognize “the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship,” they said in the statement.

Global investors are cheering a thaw in the trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs, which have roiled financial markets, disrupted supply chains and stoked recession fears.

Dow futures jumped more than 2%, while S&P 500 futures rose nearly 3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite futures went up more than 3.5% during Asian afternoon trading. Asian markets were higher too, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ending about 3% higher. The US dollar gained ground against other major currencies, while the price of gold, which tends to drop when investors are feeling more secure, fell.

The mutual tariff revisions will be imposed by May 14. Trump’s 20% fentanyl-related levies on China, imposed in February and March, will stay. However, each side has agreed to lower “reciprocal” tariffs on the other by 115 percentage points for 90 days.

That effectively means the US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%, according to the joint statement.

Under the agreement, China will also suspend or cancel its non-tariff countermeasures imposed on the US since April 2. As part of its retaliatory measures against the US, Beijing had imposed export restrictions on some rare-earth minerals; placed dozens of American firms on its “unreliable entity list” and “export control list;” and launched an anti-monopoly probe into US chemical giant DuPont.

The trade war has already affected the US and Chinese economies. America’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, showed its first quarterly contraction since early 2022, as importers raced to bring in goods before punishing tariff rates kicked in.

As for China, its exports to the US fell sharply last month, impacting the country’s enormous manufacturing industry. Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in 16 months in April, adding urgency to Beijing’s efforts to roll out fresh economic stimulus.

(to be continued)

Translation

基於重大貿易突破 , 中美同意大幅降低關稅 (1/2)

CNN

—

美國和中國週一同意在首先為期的 90 天內大幅降低彼此商品的關稅，這一意外突破緩和了激烈的貿易戰並提振了全球市場。

這項聲明是在世界兩大經濟體官員於週末在瑞士日內瓦舉行的馬拉松式貿易談判之後發佈的，雙方都宣稱談判取得了「實質進展」。

聲明中表示，雙方認識到「可持續、長期、互利的經貿關係的重要性」。

全球投資者對美國總統特朗普徵收高額關稅引發的貿易戰緩和感到高興，這場貿易戰擾亂了金融市場、破壞了供應鏈，並引發了人們對經濟衰退的擔憂。

在亞洲午後交易中，道瓊期貨上漲超過 2%，標普 500 期貨上漲近 3%，科技股佔比較高的納斯達克指數期貨上漲超過 3.5%。亞洲股市也走高，香港恆生指數收盤上漲約 3%。美元兌其他主要貨幣上漲，依從當投資者感到更安全時, 黃金價格會向下的慣性，金價下跌了。

雙方將於5月14日前實施相互關稅調整。特朗普於2月和3月對中國徵收的20%芬太尼相關關稅將維持不變。不過，雙方同意將對方的「對等」關稅降低115個百分點 90天。

根據聯合聲明，這實際上意味著美國將暫時將對中國商品的總關稅從 145% 降至 30%，而中國將把對美國進口商品的關稅從 125% 降至 10%。

根據協議，中國也將暫停或取消自4月2日起對美國實施的非關稅反制措施。作為對美報復措施的一部分，北京已對部分稀土礦實施出口限制；將數十家美國公司列入「不可靠實體名單」和「出口管制名單」；並對美國化工巨頭杜邦公司展開反壟斷調查。

貿易戰已經影響美國和中國的經濟。美國國內生產毛額（衡量美國經濟的最廣泛指標）出現了自 2022 年初以來的首次季度萎縮，原因是進口商競相在懲罰性關稅生效前進口商品。

至於中國，上個月對美國的出口大幅下降，影響了該國龐大的製造業。 4月份，中國製造業活動萎縮速度達到16個月以來的最快水平，增加了北京推出新一輪刺激經濟措施的迫切性。

（待續）