On Tuesday, the Donald Trump administration announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with senior Chinese officials this weekend in Geneva, Switzerland.
What Happened: The gathering marks the first major face-to-face discussions between the two countries since the trade conflict began, reported the Associated Press.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng will represent Beijing during the talks.
The meetings are set to take place amid a backdrop of mounting tariffs, with the U.S. imposing duties of up to 145% on Chinese imports and China retaliating with tariffs of 125% on American goods.
In addition to their Chinese counterparts, Bessent and Greer are also scheduled to meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, according to their offices, the report noted.
Why It’s Important: In a note published Monday, veteran Wall Street investor Ed Yardeni said he’s lowering his estimated probability of a U.S. recession to 35%, down from 45% at the end of March.
The revised outlook, which returns to early March levels, signals increased optimism that tensions over tariffs between the U.S. and China may ease.
Last month, Morgan Stanley economists forecasted that the U.S. and China would initiate negotiations and steadily reduce tariffs on Chinese imports to 60% by the end of the second quarter. However, they do not anticipate a return to pre-Jan. 25 tariff levels.
The Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ has fallen 5.65% year-to-date, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY is down 4.42%, as uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade war weighs on investor sentiment.
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Photo Courtesy: Tomas Ragina on Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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