A senior trade official from the United States and China held tariff consultations in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 12th (local time) and met again in Jeju three days later.
Jameson Grier, the representative of the United States Trade Representative (USTRF), and Li Chenggang, the international trade negotiation representative and deputy minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce, began talks on the 15th at the International Convention Center Jeju in Seogwipo.
The separate bilateral talks were held in connection with their visit to Jeju for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers' Meeting. The U.S.-China trade ministers are expected to discuss follow-up talks on the "joint statement of the U.S.-China economic and trade meeting in Geneva" during this meeting.
Previously, the United States and China conducted high-level trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 10th and 11th, and issued a joint statement. The content included the cancellation of retaliatory tariffs imposed by both countries and a 90-day suspension of the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Specifically, the United States agreed to lower the tariff on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China decided to reduce the retaliatory tariff on U.S. products from 125% to 10%.
However, the United States retained the 20% tariff related to fentanyl imposed on China and the basic reciprocal tariff of 10%. China also kept the reciprocal tariff of 10%.
The two countries also designated Li Heping as the representative for China and Scott Vecchione as the U.S. Treasury Secretary, along with Grier, for the negotiations, and agreed to continue discussions later.
Following this agreement, the meeting among the chief trade negotiators of the United States and China has rekindled interest in the results of the negotiations. However, given that little time has passed since the Geneva agreement, there is speculation that they will focus more on building trust in trade relations rather than on additional agreements.