The United States and China announced a temporary rollback of specified additional tariffs on May 12, 2025, with the initial suspension set for 90 days. Under the Geneva agreement, each side suspended 24 percentage points of covered additional tariffs while retaining a 10% additional rate. The pause was extended in August, and the World Trade Organization later reported a broader arrangement suspending most tariff and non-tariff measures through November 10, 2026. Those figures do not mean all duties on every product disappeared.
What did the United States and China agree to?
In a joint statement issued May 12, 2025, the two governments said they would take the specified actions by May 14. The agreement temporarily rolled back a set of recent tariff increases and created a mechanism for further economic and trade discussions. It did not eliminate every tariff either country applied to the other’s goods.
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The U.S. commitments
The United States agreed to suspend 24 percentage points of the additional ad valorem rate created under Executive Order 14257 for an initial 90 days, leaving the remaining 10% rate under that order in place. It also agreed to remove the modified additional rates imposed under Executive Orders 14259 and 14266. The joint statement sets out these commitments.
China’s commitments
China described parallel action: suspend 24 percentage points of a specified additional rate for 90 days while retaining the remaining 10%, remove rates imposed under its later April announcements, and suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2.
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How much did tariffs drop?
For the covered additional tariff action, the agreement suspended 24 percentage points and left a 10% additional rate in place. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summarized the reciprocal-tariff reductions as 115 percentage points for each side, but that public characterization should not be mistaken for a total rate on all imports. The joint statement’s specific terms distinguish the covered actions from other duties.
A tariff headline can refer to one component rather than the total duty owed on a shipment. The Congressional Research Service notes that other U.S. tariffs continued, including Section 301 duties on selected Chinese goods and Section 232 duties. During the earlier truce, Chinese goods also faced separate U.S. additional tariff layers, including a 10% tariff on imports from China and a 20% fentanyl-related tariff; the WTO later reported a reduction in the fentanyl-related rate. Applicable duties depend on the product and entry date.
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What happened after the initial 90 days?
| Date | Development | Scope and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2025 | Geneva joint statement | Specified additional tariff actions were suspended for an initial 90 days; each side retained a covered additional 10% rate. The parties said they would act by May 14. |
| August 11–12, 2025 | Stockholm statement | The parties continued the suspension for another 90 days starting August 12, retaining the specified 10% additional rate. See the Stockholm joint statement. |
| November 1, 2025 | WTO-reported arrangement | The WTO reported that both governments agreed to suspend most tariff and non-tariff measures in place until November 10, 2026. It reported that the U.S. reduced tariffs imposed to curb fentanyl flows to 10%, effective November 10, 2025, while heightened reciprocal tariffs remained suspended and the current 10% reciprocal tariff stayed in effect during the suspension period. The report also described Chinese commitments concerning critical-mineral export controls, retaliatory measures, export licenses, and trade flows in strategic sectors. The qualifier is “most” measures, not all. |
The WTO’s account is the newest sourced end date for the suspension of most measures: November 10, 2026. It does not establish what will happen after that date or rule out a later change.
Are the tariffs still in effect?
The WTO’s November 2025 account says the suspension of most measures runs through November 10, 2026, with a 10% reciprocal tariff remaining during the suspension period. That is not a blanket statement that every tariff has been suspended or that every U.S. or Chinese product faces the same total rate.
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For a specific shipment, the applicable duty depends on its tariff classification, country of origin, entry date, and the official tariff and customs rules in effect. The cited agreement and reports do not establish a landed duty rate for any particular product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the later $30 billion framework means
In May 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce reported that the two sides had agreed in principle to discuss a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions covering products of equivalent scale, worth $30 billion or more on each side. The report described further work and early implementation as forthcoming; it does not establish that those reductions were implemented. See the Ministry of Commerce report.
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