According to U.S. government statements, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will travel to Switzerland on Thursday, where they are scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing’s lead economic representative. The meeting will take place between May 9 and 12.
The scheduled meeting in Switzerland is the first public commitment to start trade negotiations since Trump first imposed tariffs on China in February.
Retaliation between the U.S. and China have lifted tariffs to staggeringly high levels. China currently imposes a 125% tariff on U.S. goods, while the U.S. imposes a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. Still, both governments have carved out sweeping exemptions for goods like pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and consumer electronics.
Asian markets barely moved despite the news that the U.S. and China might start to de-escalate. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 0.2%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 by around 0.6%, as of 4:00pm Hong Kong time. U.S. futures also reflected similar sentiment with the Dow Jones Futures and S&P futures gaining 0.42% and 0.43% respectively.
Still, de-escalation could be welcome news for the world’s two largest economies as Trump’s trade war begins to have an effect.
