China and US suspend tariffs in trade war reprieve

The US and China said they would suspend most tariffs on each others’ exports, offering a much-needed reprieve in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

The 90-day pause will see China cut its levies on US goods from 125% to 10%, and Washington lower its duties from 145% to 30%.

Stocks surged, the dollar gained, and oil prices rose on hopes that the superpowers’ fraught ties may be improving and that a feared recession in the US — as well as a broader global downturn — could be averted.

Still, challenges remain: Beijing, for example, signaled it would likely maintain controls on the export of critical minerals. “This is the beginning of a long process,” a Hong Kong-based economist wrote.