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- China and U.S. Set to Lower Tariffs to Ease Tensions
China and U.S. Set to Lower Tariffs to Ease Tensions
White House Backs Off Steepest Fees, Seeing Risks to Growth
Matt Davis
May 13, 2025
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Today’s lead story is by three reporters — two in Asia, one in Washington, D.C. — and focuses on yesterday’s news that “The United States and China took a step on Monday to defuse the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, agreeing to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other.”
I’m sorry, but that’s b.s.
My journalism professor would have spat his coffee out.
Donald Trump finally got over sh**ting all over the global economy and came as close as he can to his senses, called a meeting to reverse the idiotic trade war he kicked off. That’s what happened.
The Times’s editors are making out like this is a mutual backing-off as part of their efforts to avoid looking biased, ergo defend themselves from Trump’s inevitable unfair criticism, but it’s not a fair portrayal of what happened. It’s not factual, and as we all know, facts and objective truth are very important in a democracy. On all sides. It’s why we read the newspaper. Thanks to my friend Matt for sharing this new “theme song” for my newsletter, btw. It’s just a guy reading the news and reacting, and yes, it’s full of obscenities so don’t click through if there are impressionable ears around or you’re sensitive to f__k words. But it’s how I feel this morning, so I’ll share it.
And here’s what happened yesterday, in terms that my journalism professor (who, incidentally, had a penchant for drunkenness and going to King’s Cross where he liked to visit various cough brothels cough “massage parlors” and get thrown out for being too drunk, then scream “you’re all slags” and get it reported in the newspaper…still, nobody’s perfect, and remarkably I do find that he’s still alive! Wow, that seriously is impressive, given what he was doing to his liver in 2004…) would understand:
Donald Trump did something stupid and eventually reversed course after f___ing over his country and a bunch of other countries, and then refused to acknowledge responsibility for what he’d done, and simply moved along regardless, knowing most newspapers would be too cowardly to call him on it. Ergo he made a modest win out of a catastrophic loss.
I’m irritated with the New York Times because they had an open goal here to say some or most of that in the lede. Instead they played it safer than my (now dead, may she rest in peace) grandmother watching the snooker. Have another biscuit, dear?
Meanwhile, it takes a Harvard economist to say what the papers should be saying on Bluesky:
As the US and China step back from a needless trade war, it is worth noting that (a) US tariffs on China will remain high (30%) and will hurt mainly US consumers; and (b) Trump has obtained absolutely nothing from China for all the chaos he generated. Zilch. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/b...
— Dani Rodrik (@drodrik.bsky.social)2025-05-12T11:04:44.228Z
Thanks, dude. I wish you were on Twitter but I guess that's half the point.
Here’s the Times going as far as it dares:
The move by the United States, after President Trump had repeatedly declared that he would not lower tariffs without concessions from China, represented an acknowledgment of the costs of an all-out trade war with China. Despite the White House’s bluster, the Trump administration backed off, for now, from its steepest tariffs, and agreed to hold more formal talks with Beijing after companies and consumers started showing signs of economic strain.
Explaining that many of the tariffs that he imposed remain in place, Mr. Trump said at the White House on Monday that talks would be focused in part on “opening up” China to American businesses. He said that he expected to talk to President Xi Jinping of China this week, but that putting a full deal on paper would take a while.
“We’re not looking to hurt China,” Mr. Trump said.
What the actual eff. I mean, not any more? Because I do strongly remember a lot of “let’s hurt China” rhetoric over recent weeks. The problem, of course, is that when you google “hurt China”, now, all you get is Trump saying he doesn’t want to. And yet of course since April he has been hurting China every single day. What’s next?
“We are not looking to marry a woman whose only job before we met was to model, and we are looking to sue anybody who says otherwise and reach a sizable settlement.”
“I am not looking to sexually abuse a woman in the changing rooms at Bergdorf Goodman and then defame her repeatedly over it.”
“We are not looking to send my Vice President to Germany and tell them all to vote for the resurgent Nazi party.”
My advice, Donald, is to watch out for what you’re not looking to do. Because it looks an awful lot like you’re looking to do it, every single time. The paper carries an illustration that you might call, “a colossal waste of time and energy, courtesy of Donald Trump.”
Grrr!
It makes me so mad!
The outcome of the frenzied negotiations brought tariff rates close to where they were before Mr. Trump ratcheted them higher on April 2, which he billed as “Liberation Day.” However, the talks did not appear to yield any meaningful concessions beyond an agreement to continue discussions.
Grrrrrrr!
“We concluded that we have a shared interest,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a news conference in Geneva, where U.S. and Chinese officials met over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling.”
GRRRRRRR! Decouple this!
Gyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, who “consciously uncoupled” in 2014. But this is global politics, not a celebrity marriage.
I feel like Donald Trump is in the Oval Office pooping all over the walls and Scott Bessent’s job is to go out into the world and try to convince everybody he isn’t. How long until the apesh*t hits the fan again, Scott? Hey, let’s blame Joe Biden…
Mr. Bessent placed blame on the Biden administration for failing to honor its commitments to the trade deal that Mr. Trump reached with China during his first term. He said the current round of talks would aim for a more “fulsome agreement.”
Nope! Also this doesn’t solve everything. Businesses are still all suffering remarkably from the uncertainty and anxiety this situation has wrought.
While a temporary reprieve from the shockingly high tariffs may be cause for celebration for businesses in both countries, the repercussions will linger. Businesses are likely to encounter pent-up demand, leading to higher transport prices, as companies race to schedule shipments during the 90-day negotiating window.
Here, perhaps, is the strongest statement of fact and balance on the whole issue so far. And it comes from Europe:
In a statement, the European Chamber of Commerce in China said that it was “encouraged” by the announcement, but that “uncertainty remains” because the tariffs are only temporarily suspended.
Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber, said it “hopes to see both sides continue to engage in dialogue to resolve differences, and avoid taking measures that will disrupt global trade and result in collateral damage for those caught in the crossfire.”
Those caught in the crossfire, of course, are voters like you and me. And everybody who works in two of the world’s largest economies. And everybody who trades with them. It’s appropriate to want to scream into a pillow and punch it, this morning, folks. And that’s what I plan to do here for a minute, shortly.
Say, is there a story that might cheer me up a bit?
Oh, sure. Read this profile of Jasmine Amy Rogers, who plays Betty Boop on Broadway. 👇️
Matt Davis lives in Manhattan with his wife and kid.
Standard disclaimer: I read the top story in the New York Times every morning so that you don’t have to. If you were forwarded this, you can subscribe here. I’m also doing a five-minute video version of this, each weekday morning at around 9 a.m. (depending on how long it takes me to read the newspaper). If you’d like to follow me on LinkedIn (you can always watch the recording later). If you subscribe to my Youtube channel it’ll also send you a notification when I’m “going live.”