The latest on Trump’s presidency as US and China agree to roll back tariffs

The trade war de-escalation with China represents a big win for the US economy and the American consumer, Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council of the United States, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday.

Hassett said Trump had scored major concessions from China and the United Kingdom in their respective recent frameworks for trade negotiations, announced over the past few days, particularly by opening up the UK market to American beef and potentially paring back some of the barriers China had put in place on American companies looking to do business there.

“We described the non-tariff barriers and tariffs that disadvantaged American workers, and folks are coming to the table and and it’s really stunning how quickly they’re moving and how dramatic the changes are,” Hassett said. “I think it’s really a very historic fresh start in the relationship between the US and China.”

The biggest win for the US economy from this weekend’s stunning agreement with China is likely the drastic reduction of the sky-high tariffs the US had placed on Chinese goods that had all but stopped trade between the two countries. That risked supply chain shocks, higher prices and some shortages. Although Hassett hinted at future agreements that could open up foreign markets more to US goods and services, it’s not clear yet what shape those will take and whether Chinese and British consumers will want those American goods.

Significant damage has already been done by the enormous tariffs put in place between the US and China over the past few months, economists and logistics experts say. Shipments of Chinese goods to the United States fell off a cliff in recent weeks. But Hassett suggested the agreement reached over the weekend should prevent further issues with supply from China.

“A lot of that is cleared up now — the potential for supply disruptions from China,” Hassett said. “All of that stuff is cleared up by this really historic negotiation.”