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U.S-CHINA TRADE TRUCE
Trade Truce or Tactical Pause? The Fragile Reset in U.S.-China Trade Relations
The new tariff rollback signals relief, not resolution, as Washington pursues strategic decoupling amid rising deficits and market unease
In a world where geopolitics and macroeconomics are increasingly intertwined, few bilateral relationships are as consequential and as complicated as that between the United States and China. The latest development in this ongoing saga is a tentative trade truce announced last weekend, which has sent financial markets into a euphoria.
Tariffs, the blunt instruments of economic confrontation, are being scaled back: U.S. levies on Chinese goods are set to drop from 145% to 30%, while China has agreed to reduce its retaliatory tariffs from 125% to just 10%. Yet, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent underscored, this is no full reconciliation. Rather, it’s a recalibration — a move from economic “shock therapy” to a more strategic, surgical approach.
Decoupling is still on the table. The so-called “progress” represents a complex compromise, not a resolution. As we unpack this fragile reset, it becomes clear that the road ahead is still riddled with friction, mistrust, and deep…
