New China deal to help reduce US's ‘massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit,' says official

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday "the deal we struck with our Chinese partners" would help reduce the US's $1.2 trillion (£901bn) trade deficit.

"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 towards resolving that national emergency [the trade deficit]," Jamieson Greer was quoted by the White House as saying.

US-China trade deal

The US announced on Sunday a trade deal with China in Geneva. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was “substantial progress” in the weekend sessions but offered scant information on exactly what negotiations entailed. He said more details would come at a briefing Monday.

“I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said, as per a White House release.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also suggested that an agreement had been reached but provided no details. He and Bessent briefly addressed reporters once talks had wrapped at the stately villa that serves as the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, but did not take questions.

“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 far as maybe thought,” Greer said.

But he also stressed that a top Trump priority means closing the US trade deficit with China, which came to a record $263 billion last year.

“We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to resolve, work towards resolving that national emergency,” Greer said.

Trump tariffs

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide, but its fight with China has been the most intense.

Trump had last month raised US tariffs on China to a combined 145%, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125% levy.

Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries’ boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped $660 billion, the Associated Press reported.