Athira Sethu
Kochi, 12 May 2025
The US and China have signed a trade agreement following two days of crucial talks in Geneva, Switzerland. The White House announced adding that the talks were productive and that additional details will be announced shortly.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added, “We made good progress during the trade talks with China. It was a productive meeting, and we will give more information tomorrow.”
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that it was amazing how fast the two nations were able to reach an agreement. He described the situation as that the US has a very big trade deficit — $1.2 trillion. This is why the US President previously had declared a national emergency and imposed huge taxes (tariffs) on Chinese products. Greer thinks that this new agreement will fix that issue.
This agreement could transform things for India. Over the past few months, tensions between the US and China had benefited India. When the US increased tariffs on Chinese imports, many US businesses began purchasing products from Indian vendors instead. India also started negotiating with the US for its own trade agreement.
But now, if the US and China cut tariffs and enhance trade, China may recapture its lost business with the US. This can spoil India’s chances to gain from the previous tensions. Chinese companies even approached Indian companies and asked them to assist in filling US orders, some Indian exporters said.
At the same time, China’s export statistics revealed that while sales to the US declined by 20% during April, exports from China as a whole continued to rise by 8.1% against last year. The reason for this was that China’s trade with other nations, particularly in the ASEAN area, was robust.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett stated that China appeared quite keen to repair trade relations with the US. He also gave indications that additional trade agreements with other nations would be taking place in the near future.
