The curtain came down on the first phase of President Trump’s tariff and trade war earlier this week, when the U.S. announced a huge reduction in levies with China. Washington and Beijing agreed

The president has backtracked repeatedly on his tariff policies, creating a whiplash with downsides and few clear benefits so far.

Diplomats with the European Union are still waiting for in-depth negotiations to begin. And it's unclear how quickly a substantive agreement with China could be reached.

The weekend deal adds to the sense that President Donald Trump may be backing off some of the more stringent trade tariffs.

The U.S. and China agreed to lower tariffs for 90 days. The details: U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will fall to 30 percent from 145 percent. Meanwhile, China’s blanket tariffs on U.S. products will drop to 10 percent from 125 percent. A few tariffs will remain. President Donald Trump signed an order to lower prescription drug prices.

Tariff rates on small packages from China will be cut in half, though a flat-fee option will not change, the White House said Monday. Why it matters: Trump previously ended a loophole that allowed low-value goods into the country tariff-free — the rate reversal will ease price pressures on customers of Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu.