Richard Baldwin
US-China deal? 1) Trump said US would lower tariffs to 80% or so, thus giving China face-save it needed to start talks (e.g. spin: US asked and admitted they were wrong and would lower tariffs, so we can talk with mutual respect for mutual gain), 2) US removed all the China-specific 2 April tariffs & retaliation leaving only the 10% base (20% fentanyl is something else), 3) China matched the 10%. Takeaway? The US was desperate to have a face-saver for reversing Trump's mistakes without admitting they were mistakes. China was will to play along and stretch its 'no bullying' redline to avoid the bankruptcies the 145% were causing.