US-China trade deal gives countries chance to seek deals without being singled out as choosing sides: expert

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions during a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12. EPA-Yonhap

A trade deal between the United States and China gives other countries a chance to negotiate their own deals without being singled out as taking sides between the two superpowers, an expert said Monday, as Korea and other countries are trying to reach agreements with Washington.

Following high-stakes negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, Washington and Beijing announced the deal to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days. Under it, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will be lowered to 30 percent from the current 145 percent, starting Wednesday, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. exports will be cut to 10 percent from 125 percent.

When the changes come into effect, the two countries agreed to establish a mechanism to continue discussions on trade and other economic issues, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and He Lifeng, vice premier of the State Council of China, will represent each side, according to the White House.

The deal was keenly watched by Korea and other countries that have been in talks with the U.S. in the hopes of avoiding or minimizing the impact of new "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs rolled out by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

"It is too early to tell how negotiations on a broad range of issues will evolve over the next 90 days, but a process to address mutual concerns is an excellent first step," Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and senior fellow at the Center for China Analysis, said in her commentary.

"This also gives the rest of the world an opportunity to negotiate their own deals with the U.S. without being singled out as choosing sides between Washington and Beijing."

The two superpowers' prohibitively high tariffs on each other have halted much of their trade, spawning concerns that countries, which seek to strike deals with the U.S. for sustained trade and economic cooperation, could run the risk of being seen as skewed toward America in the midst of an intensifying great-power rivalry.

But their deal helped eased the trade war and raised hope for more cooperation between Washington and Beijing at a time when concerns have grown that an escalation of the tariff war would lead to higher prices and slower economic growth.

While cautious optimism for talks between the U.S. and China has emerged, Daniels said that the "strategic mistrust" that underpins the Sino-U.S. relationship will influence how much concrete progress can be made in the 90-day window and beyond.

"The Trump approach is to seek big, breakthrough deals that come with major commitments and changes, but at this point in the relationship, an incremental and trust-building approach would be more stabilizing in the long term," she said.

Wendy Cutler, vice president of the ASPI speaks during an interview in Seoul, April 30. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Wendy Cutler, vice president of the ASPI, said that third countries, particularly Asian economies, will welcome the de-escalation between Washington and Beijing.

"However, they remain concerned about competing pressures from the U.S. and China," she said.

She cast the short-term trade deal as "better than expected."

"Both sides agreed to lower their high tariff rates by 115 percent, and importantly Beijing also agreed to unwind the non-tariff measures it had applied against the U.S.," she said.

"Furthermore, both sides have established a consultation mechanism, which could serve as an important channel of communication. That said, the U.S. will need to ensure that Beijing does not use this venue as a delaying mechanism," she added.

Cutler also pointed out that the three-month period is an "extremely short" amount of time to address the range of contentious trade matters between the U.S. and China, including excess manufacturing capacity, subsidization of Chinese firms, and transshipment efforts by Chinese companies.

"Similar negotiations typically take well over one year," she said. "The talks also come at a time when U.S. negotiators are already spread thin, negotiating with multiple other countries interested in forging deals with Washington to avoid the reciprocal tariffs assigned to them."

Korea and the U.S. have been conducting trade consultations with a focus on tariff- and non-tariff measures; economic security; investment cooperation; and currency policy.

Seoul has stressed the need to conduct trade talks with the U.S. "without haste" in consideration of ongoing domestic situations, namely the June 3 presidential election as it seeks a "July package" deal over tariffs and economic and industrial cooperation before July 8 when Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends.

Washington has been seen as striving to reach a deal in a more swift manner as it has a long list of countries for trade negotiations.