The United States and China announced Monday an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, an outcome President Donald Trump dubbed a “total reset” as he said talks with counterpart Xi Jinping could soon follow.After the first meetings between Washington and Beijing since Trump ratcheted up his trade war, the world’s two biggest economies agreed in a joint statement to bring their triple-digit tariffs down to two figures and continue negotiations.The announcement sent financial markets soaring after weeks of turmoil over tariff fears. Major Wall Street indexes surged, with the broad-based S&P 500 closing 3.3 percent higher.”Yesterday we achieved a total reset with China after productive talks in Geneva,” Trump said. “I’ll speak to President Xi, maybe at the end of the week.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described weekend discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and international trade representative Li Chenggang as “productive” and “robust” with both sides anticipated to meet again soon.Trump’s fresh duties on many imports from China came up to 145 percent this year, compared to 10 percent for other countries in a global tariff blitz launched last month.Beijing hit back with duties of 125 percent on US goods.The United States agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent while China will reduce its own to 10 percent.These actions take effect at 12:01 am on Wednesday, according to an executive order released by the White House.The United States also lowered a levy on low-value imports from China that had hit e-commerce sites such as Shein and Temu. Under Trump’s executive order, “de minimis” items sent through the US Postal Service will be hit with duties of 54 percent of their value, or a $100 payment. The prior tariff had been set at 120 percent.Bessent told CNBC Monday that he expects United States and Chinese representatives to meet again in the coming weeks to work out “a more fulsome agreement.”While Washington does not want broad decoupling from China, it seeks “decoupling for strategic necessities,” Bessent said.He added to CNBC that the 90-day pause was also done to see what the United States could do about non-tariff barriers weighing on US firms. China hailed the “substantial progress” made at the talks, held at the discreet villa residence of Switzerland’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.This move “is in the interest of the two countries and the common interest of the world,” the Chinese commerce ministry said, adding that it hoped Washington would keep working with Beijing “to correct the wrong practice of unilateral tariff rises.”With the agreement, China also committed to suspending or removing non-tariff countermeasures.- Fentanyl ‘cooperation’ -The US additional tariff rate remains higher than China’s because it includes a 20 percent levy over Trump’s complaints about Chinese exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters.”Those remain unchanged for now,” he said. But “both the Chinese and United States agreed to work constructively together on fentanyl and there is a positive path forward there as well.”In a joint statement, the two sides agreed to “establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.””I think we leave with a very good mechanism to avoid the unfortunate escalations,” Bessent said, noting that the tariffs had essentially created a trade “embargo” between the two superpowers.China’s commerce ministry said both parties “will conduct rolling consultations on a regular or ad hoc basis in China, the US or agreed third countries.”- ‘No guarantee’ -A suspension of higher tariffs marks “substantial de-escalation,” said Capital Economics chief Asia economist Mark Williams in a note.But “there is no guarantee that the 90-day truce will give way to a lasting ceasefire,” he warned. Washington appears to be seeking to rally others towards introducing restrictions on trade with China, he said.Nonetheless, the latest development signals negotiations are moving to a more conciliatory phase, according to a Deutsche Bank Research note.Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, believes the outcome of the weekend meeting was a “success” for Beijing.”China took a tough stance on the US threat of high tariffs and eventually managed to get the tariffs down significantly without making concessions,” he said.Trump’s tariffs and high rates targeting China have rocked financial markets, raising fears the levies would rekindle inflation and cause a global economic downturn.The Geneva meeting came days after Trump unveiled a trade agreement with Britain, the first with any country since his new duties on both friend and foe.burs-nl-bys-jmb/dw

US President Donald Trump on Monday angrily dismissed concerns over his plans to receive a jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One, saying it would be “stupid” not to accept such a gift.The offer from Qatar’s royal family to donate the $400 million 747-8 to be used as the US presidential plane raised major questions about ethics and security, but Trump played them down.”It’s a great gesture,” the 78-year-old billionaire told reporters at the White House when asked if the oil-rich Gulf state would expect anything in exchange.”I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person (and) say ‘no we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.'”Qatar’s offer came after Trump repeatedly complained of delays and cost overruns in aerospace giant Boeing’s contract to provide two new Air Force One jets to replace the current aging models.Trump responded particularly angrily when asked if he would use the jet in a personal capacity after he left the presidency.”You should be embarrassed asking that question,” Trump told a reporter. “They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, no, no, no, don’t give us I want to pay you $1 billion or $400 million, or whatever it is. Or I could say, thank you very much.”Trump said that instead it would be donated to his future presidential library as an exhibit, in the same way that Ronald Reagan’s library holds a former Air Force One jet.- ‘Nuclear-grade graft’ -Qatar swiftly sought to downplay the uproar, saying the jet would not be a gift.”The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense,” said Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attache to Washington.But the plan has raised major ethical questions, as the US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State.”It has also raised deep security concerns about using a plane donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One. The jet is designed to serve as a mobile command center for the president in case of an attack on America.Democrats slammed the plan.”Any president who accepts this kind of gift, valued at $400 million, from a foreign government creates a clear conflict of interest,” said a statement by four members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The statement by Senators Cory Booker, Brian Schatz, Chris Coons and Chris Murphy said it also “raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government.” Murphy said separately that he would also block any arms sale to a “nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump,” describing Qatar’s proposed gift as “nuclear-grade graft.”- ‘Utmost transparency’ -Trump and the White House however claim the Qatari jet would be a gift to the US Department of Defense, which would also get around constitutional concerns.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Qatar had “graciously offered” to donate a plane to the Pentagon but that the “legal details of that are still being worked out.””Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that,” she told Fox News.Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. Bush.Earlier this year Trump said his administration was “looking at alternatives” to Boeing following delays in the delivery of two new 747-8 aircraft.Trump also has a model of the future Air Force One in his handpicked red, white and blue colors on the coffee table in the Oval Office, in front of where he sits with foreign leaders.

It is arguably the world’s most iconic plane, an instantly recognizable symbol of the US presidency. But now Air Force One — like many other American institutions once considered sacred — is getting the Donald Trump treatment.- A name, not a plane – Technically Air Force One is the callsign for whichever US Air Force plane, no matter how small, is carrying the US president.But most people identify it with the two heavily modified versions of the Boeing 747-200 jet liner that usually shuttle the US president around the world.The two current models, called the VC-25A in military speak, both entered service in 1990 during the presidency of George H.W. Bush.With its classic blue and white livery the current jumbo jet has become so famous that it even spawned a Hollywood thriller named after it, starring Harrison Ford.Sometimes presidents use smaller planes based on Boeing 757s for shorter flights, dubbed “Baby Air Force One.”- Presidential suite -“Big Air Force One” boasts luxury features fit for a commander-in-chief.The president himself has a large suite that includes an office with leather chairs and a polished wooden desk — a space Trump used for a press conference to sign a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.A medical suite on board can also function as an operating room, should the worst happen.There are special cabins for senior advisors, Secret Service members and 13 traveling press. It has two galleys that can feed 100 people at a time, all on specially branded crockery.- Special features – But the plane’s main role is keeping the US president safe.Inflight refueling capability means it can stay in the air almost indefinitely.A hardened electronics system protects against electromagnetic pulses — whether from nuclear explosions or hostile jammers — “allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command center in the event of an attack on the United States,” the White House said.Those communications also keep Trump constantly in touch with the ground — and able to send social media posts in mid-air.The jet also has top secret air defenses, according to aviation specialists.These reportedly include countermeasures that can jam enemy radars and infrared tracking systems, plus dispensers for chaff — metal shavings that distract radar-guided missiles — and flares that blind heat-seeking missiles.- Historic roles – Inevitably, Air Force One has also played its role in history.The first specially-designed jets were brought in by John F. Kennedy in 1962, using modified Boeing 707s. One of those jets brought Kennedy’s body back to Washington after his assassination in Dallas in 1963.Then in 2001, George W. Bush took to the skies aboard Air Force One after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.- Trump obsession – But Trump has long had something of an obsession with the presidential jets.The Republican has consistently sought to upgrade them, agreeing a deal with Boeing in 2018 during his first term for two new models based on the newer 747-8 jet.He also dreamed up a new color scheme — replacing the one largely in place since Kennedy’s time — with a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft and a dark blue underbelly.Trump likes the new look so much that he still has a model of it on his coffee table in the Oval Office, and showed it off at his inauguration for a second term.But now he has repeatedly complained about delays and cost overruns.”We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long… We have an Air Force one that’s 40 years old,” Trump said on Monday.”You look at some of the Arab countries and the planes they have parked alongside of the United States of America plane, it’s like from a different planet.”One of those same Arab countries, Qatar, has now offered the United States a Boeing 747-8 from the royal family to use as a stopgap Air Force One.But with ethical concerns and security worries about using a plane from a foreign power for such an ultra-sensitive purpose, it’s unclear whether the scheme will ever leave the ground.

Rapper Tory Lanez, who was convicted over the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, was hospitalized after getting attacked in a California prison, authorities said Monday.Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was rushed to the hospital following the early morning assault by another prisoner at the institution in Tehachapi, 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.There was no official comment on the severity of his injuries, but entertainment outlet TMZ, citing sources, reported he was expected to survive what it said was a stabbing.”At approximately 7:20am today, Daystar Peterson was attacked by another inmate at a housing unit in the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi,” said a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.”Staff immediately responded, activated 911 and began medical aid. Peterson was subsequently transported to an outside medical facility for further treatment.”Prison authorities have begun an investigation into the attack, working alongside the district attorney’s office in Kern County, they said.In 2023 Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a closely followed trial in Los Angeles in which he denied shooting at Megan Thee Stallion.A jury had heard how the Canadian rapper had ordered the “Savage” star to dance as he shot repeatedly at her feet.Megan Thee Stallion — whose real name is Megan Pete — had been in a car with Lanez, his bodyguard and her friend Kelsey Harris after a party at Kylie Jenner’s luxury home in July 2020.She and Lanez had developed an intimate relationship in the months before the incident.Harris, who only learned of the sexual relationship that night, had a crush on Lanez, she had told the court, and an argument then erupted in the car, with Megan Thee Stallion demanding to be let out of the vehicle.The “Hot Girl Summer” singer said she suffered injuries to her feet that affected her ability to walk after the attack.