Good news for integrators and their manufacturers — the U.S. and China have announced an agreement to reduce tariffs levied on one another and eliminate retaliation for 90 days, signaling a new openness toward trade cooperation.
According to the Trump Administration, China will remove the retaliatory tariffs it announced on April 4 and will suspend or remote the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the U.S. since April 2.
China will also suspend its initial 34% on the U.S. it announced on April 4 for 90 days but will retain a 10% tariff during the 90 days.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will remove the additional tariffs imposed on China on April 8 and 9 but will retain all duties imposed on China prior to April 2, including Section 301 tariffs, Section 232 tariffs, tariffs the Administration says were imposed in response to the fentanyl national emergency invoked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and Most Favored Nation tariffs.
Related: Tariffs and Their Effect: Everything Integrators Need to Know
Under the agreement, the U.S. will also suspend its 34% reciprocal tariff it imposed on April 2, for 90 days, but will also retain a 10% tariff during the pause.
Now, tariffs against Chinese goods effectively stand at just 30%, down from the maximum of 145%. China’s levies on U.S. goods, meanwhile, are cut to just 10% from 125%.
The agreement with China comes on the heels of a similar agreement with the U.K.
While all Americans were set to see the price of goods skyrocket due to these tariffs, the integration industry would have been hit hard, with manufacturers no longer able or willing to absorb the tariffs that more than doubled the price of some products. Manufacturers had also been eyeing moving production out of China to other countries less impacted by tariffs, which itself is a monumental task and easier said than done. Now, they may not have to.
Some manufacturers have already been transparent about some price increases to prepare for tariffs, but now manufacturers and integrators can begin to breathe a little easier. While the pause is undoubtedly a welcome development, the industry urges both sides to come to a deal to put these tariffs behind us.
That may be in the cards, as both China and the U.S. in a joint statement said they will continue discussions about economic and trade relations.
Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site CEPro on May 12, 2025. It has since been updated for Commercial Integrator’s audience.
