Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a welcome pause in the Trump administration’s trade wars on May 11. A preliminary agreement with China will reduce U.S. tariffs on most Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, with a reciprocal reduction on U.S. exports to China from 125% to 10%. The reprieve is set to last only 90 days, however, and there is still worry that higher tariffs could snap back if negotiations fall apart before a long-term agreement is reached. Still, it is a positive step. Bessent is taking a reasoned lead, and one hopes that the progress he has achieved so far will continue.

Bessent’s announcement came near the end of spirited negotiations that began in Switzerland on May 9, and the pace of those talks suggests that tariffs were inflicting as much pain on the Chinese economy as they have been inflicting on our own. “We concluded that we have a shared interest,” Bessent explained. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling.”