After second day of talks with the U.S., Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said trade talks with the U.S. “achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”

An alumnus of the first Trump White House assessed that, of Trump’s Cabinet, Bessent seems to be the “most serious person in the room.”

That gave some top aides a path to initiating negotiations with the Chinese, which culminated this past weekend in Geneva with a partial deal.

Tariff rates on small packages from China will be cut in half, though a flat-fee option will not change, the White House said Monday. Why it matters: Trump previously ended a loophole that allowed low-value goods into the country tariff-free — the rate reversal will ease price pressures on customers of Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu.

President Donald Trump is "determined to continue with a "10% baseline tariff" against all countries despite his U.K. trade deal, the White House said.

The United States will cut the low value "de minimis" tariff on China shipments, a White House executive order said on Monday, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies,