US and China talk it out at Geneva, agreeing to suspend ultra-high tariffs for 90 days, but PC parts don't seem to be part of the deal

A compound image of a US flag, overlaid with various graphics representing stocks, growth, and finance — (Image credit: Panida Wijitpanya via Getty Images)

After weeks of reciprocal tariffs by the US and China on each other's exports, a high-level meeting held in Geneva appears to have resulted in the reset button being firmly pressed. For an initial period of 90 days, Chinese imports to the US will incur a 30% tariff, down from 145%, whereas goods going the other direction will receive a 10% tariff (previously 125%). However, these broad reductions aren't being applied to every item being imported.

Along with a joint statement from the US and China, news of the deal was reported by Reuters, which includes further comments on the meeting by Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary.

It's worth noting, though, that while these big reductions in tariffs will help settle the global market's nerves, not every import will benefit. Apparently, the deal doesn't include 'sector-specific tariffs' and items such as semiconductors, steel, and medicines will still be treated separately to "continue strategic rebalancing in areas…where [the US] had identified supply chain vulnerabilities," to quote Reuters.

There's no denying that the Geneva meeting was much-needed, and its outcome is good news for the general consumer. However, vendors and retailers are unlikely to suddenly lower prices or improve stocks, as there's still too much uncertainty—nervous markets tend not to go down the cheap route to entice buyers.

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Nick, gaming, and computers all first met in the early 1980s. After leaving university, he became a physics and IT teacher and started writing about tech in the late 1990s. That resulted in him working with MadOnion to write the help files for 3DMark and PCMark. After a short stint working at Beyond3D.com, Nick joined Futuremark (MadOnion rebranded) full-time, as editor-in-chief for its PC gaming section, YouGamers. After the site shutdown, he became an engineering and computing lecturer for many years, but missed the writing bug. Cue four years at TechSpot.com covering everything and anything to do with tech and PCs. He freely admits to being far too obsessed with GPUs and open-world grindy RPGs, but who isn't these days?

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