Now, everything is up in the air again following a breakthrough in US-China trade talks

President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to kick off a ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum

The United States and China have agreed to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs in a deal that surpassed expectations as the world’s two biggest economies seek to end a damaging trade war that has stoked fears of recession and roiled financial markets.

Washington expressed optimism after trade talks with China aimed to de-escalate trade tensions sparked by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff rollout.

Tariffs imposed on the Asian manufacturing giant since the start of the year currently total 145 percent, with cumulative duties on some goods reaching a staggering 245 percent.

Trump did not offer more details but said it would be the "first of many."

Apple on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above expectations but warned that US tariffs could cost the company and were disrupting its supply chain.

Trump signed an executive order to limit the impact of overlapping tariffs on automakers.

A White House official confirmed the report and indicated the move would be made official on Tuesday.

Stockpiling is not a solution, however, said analysts.

Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington.

The United States and European Union need to “de-escalate” and “negotiate a deal” to help boost lackluster growth on the continent, the International Monetary Fund’s Europe director said Friday.

The Bank has been advising developing countries to focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods

The IMF on Wednesday announced that economic pressures from steep new US tariffs will push global public debt above pandemic-era levels

He said a large portion of these new resources could be used to provide loans to help governments rapidly address actual or anticipated budget gaps and shore up health-care networks, water and sanitation systems, or other critical public systems impacted by foreign aid cuts.

A flood of Chinese steel in recent years has pushed some Indian mills to scale down operations and mull job cuts

Sky-high tariffs imposed on China by US President Donald Trump have triggered a slump in factory orders, manufacturers told AFP this week -- with some fearing business may never return.

Sri Lanka’s recovery from its worst economic meltdown, which forced a sovereign default and toppled a president, will be undermined if punishing US tariffs resume, the IMF warned on Friday.

In just a week, the dollar has gone from a safe haven to investors’ whipping boy as US President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariffs on friend and foe alike undermine decades of trust in the world’s reserve currency.

Trump's punishing tariffs have shaken a global trading order that has persisted for decades