Two Trump administration officials are claiming that a trade deal with China has been achieved, although details are limited.
A news release from the White House, featuring quotes from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said there had been productive talks with Chinese officials and suggested that details of a deal are coming.
“I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks,” said Mr Bessent.
“We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive."
Mr Greer echoed the comments made by Mr Bessent, saying that there was much productivity over two days in Switzerland.
This claims of a deal come after officials from Washington and Beijing met in Switzerland on Saturday for the first in-person, high-level contact since US President Donald Trump started a tariff war on April 2 that has upset markets, businesses and consumers.
“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” Mr Greer said.
“Just remember why we’re here in the first place – the US has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work towards resolving that national emergency.”
According to Reuters, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng said trade talks with the US in Switzerland had been candid, in-depth and constructive, although he did not confirm if a deal had been reached.
The tariffs announced by Mr Trump early in April have led to protests from US consumers and warnings from the business sector.
The move from the Trump administration raised the spectre of a global recession and dragged America's gross domestic product 0.3 per cent lower in the first quarter of 2025 – the first contraction in three years.
Amid the reaction from markets around the world since the announcement of tariffs, various economists have warned that for all his talk, global economic realities have made Mr Trump's push for influence in negotiating with China an uphill battle.
For several weeks since the threat of tariffs first became apparent, companies around the world have worked to adjust and blunt their impacts.
California-based technology giant Apple has worked hard to move iPhone production from China to India, to avoid being affected by effects of the tariff row between the US and Beijing.
