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U.S. and China hit the pause button on trade war for 90 days, as talks continue

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georgiarecorder.com – Ashley Murray – 2025-05-12 11:24:00


The U.S. and China agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days, easing tensions in their trade war. Starting Wednesday, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will drop to 10%, down from 145%. However, tariffs on certain products, including fentanyl-related chemicals and small packages, will remain. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized productive talks on the fentanyl crisis. While businesses express uncertainty, some analysts argue that the deal doesn’t resolve deeper issues, as the trade restrictions remain high compared to previous levels. The White House framed the agreement as a step toward addressing the U.S.-China trade imbalance.

U.S. and China hit the pause button on trade war for 90 days, as talks continue

by Ashley Murray, Georgia Recorder
May 12, 2025

The United States and China agreed Monday to lower steep tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, temporarily cooling a trade war but still leaving a cloud of uncertainty over businesses in the world’s two largest economies.

American and Chinese officials announced the pause will go into effect Wednesday, following talks in Geneva, Switzerland, as negotiations on a final deal continue. U.S. markets rallied following the announcement.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will drop to a universal 10% baseline, down from the 145% President Donald Trump imposed last month. Trump’s previous 20% emergency tariffs announced in February on all products because of illicit fentanyl chemicals from China will remain in place, as will protective tariffs on goods still in place from the president’s first term. New duties on small packages sent to the U.S. from China, valued at less than $800, will also remain.

Fentanyl discussion

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that he and Chinese counterparts “had a very robust and highly detailed discussion” on preventing fentanyl and the chemicals to make the synthetic opioid from entering the U.S.

“The upside surprise for me from this weekend was the level of Chinese engagement on the fentanyl crisis in the United States. They brought the deputy minister for public safety,” Bessent said.

Bessent told reporters that overall negotiations were “always respectful.”

“We had the two largest economies in the world. We were firm — and we moved forward … We came with a list of problems that we were trying to solve and I think we did a good job on that,” Bessent said.

The White House touted the 90-day pause as a “landmark deal” in a Monday press release.

China has agreed to lower its tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%, down from 125%, according to a joint statement.

Tariffs are taxes on goods coming across the border. Companies and small businesses that import items from China must pay them to the U.S. government to receive their purchases.

Business reaction unclear

“I see the president’s approach to this as him putting a knife in your back and then pulling it out an inch and calling it a win,” said Alex Duarte, senior economist at the Tax Foundation, a think tank that advocates for lower taxation.

“Depending on the good, the rate could be close to 55%, so the tariffs on China are still pretty high. It’s hard to say how businesses are supposed to react to this because there’s so much uncertainty and the president behaves very erratically,” Duarte told States Newsroom Monday.

States Newsroom spoke to several business owners who were extremely nervous ahead of Trump’s April 2 “liberation day” tariffs. That announcement sent markets plummeting.

Marcus Noland, executive vice president and director of studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in an interview Monday the situation has “gone from OK to apocalyptic to bad.”

“It’s clearly preferable to a tariff that would have essentially ended trade between the two countries, but it’s still significantly more restrictive than where we started the year,” Noland said.

The White House released a statement Monday saying the administration will continue “working toward a rebalancing” of a trade deficit with China. In 2024, the U.S. purchased $295.4 billion more in goods from China than China purchased from the U.S.

“Today’s agreement works toward addressing these imbalances to deliver real, lasting benefits to American workers, farmers, and businesses,” according to the White House press release.

Last updated 1:51 p.m., May. 12, 2025

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The content presents a balanced view of the trade negotiations between the United States and China, highlighting both positive developments and ongoing challenges. It includes direct statements and reactions from government officials across the political spectrum as well as perspectives from economists and business owners. The article refrains from strongly favoring or criticizing any particular political figure or policy, providing a neutral overview focused on factual reporting and varied viewpoints.

News from the South - Georgia News Feed

Senate megabill marks biggest Medicaid cuts in history 

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www.wjbf.com – Nathaniel Weixel – 2025-07-01 12:56:00

SUMMARY: Senate Republicans passed a tax and spending bill including the largest Medicaid cuts since its 1960s inception, aiming to reduce spending by $1 trillion over ten years. The Congressional Budget Office projects nearly 12 million lower-income Americans will lose coverage by 2034, mainly targeting those who gained insurance via Medicaid expansion. Key measures include strict work requirements for beneficiaries and restrictions on state provider taxes, which could destabilize rural hospitals. Critics warn this will increase uninsured rates, medical debt, and healthcare access issues, while GOP leaders claim no eligible individuals will lose benefits. The bill awaits House approval amid concerns over its impact on the social safety net.

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Get ready for a wet start to July, but drier skies ahead for the Fourth!

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www.wjbf.com – Miller Hyatt – 2025-07-01 06:25:00

SUMMARY: Tuesday in the CSRA brings heat, humidity, and scattered to numerous thunderstorms, especially north and west of Augusta, with possible damaging winds of 40–60 mph and heavy rain causing localized flash flooding. A cold front from the west fuels this moisture and storm activity. Storm chances shift south Wednesday, with temperatures in the upper 80s to near 90, maintaining muggy summer conditions. By Thursday, drier air filters in, though some afternoon showers remain possible. For July 4th and the weekend, drier, sunnier, and seasonably hot weather is expected. A low-pressure system near the Florida Panhandle may develop, but impacts are uncertain and likely minimal.

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Judge blocks Georgia’s new social media age verification law just before it was set to start

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georgiarecorder.com – Ross Williams – 2025-07-01 02:00:00


A federal judge has temporarily blocked Georgia’s Senate Bill 351, which required social media companies to verify minors’ ages and obtain parental consent before account creation. The ruling, favoring social media coalition NetChoice, cited First Amendment concerns, noting the law’s exemptions created content-based speech restrictions likely unconstitutional. Judge Amy Totenberg highlighted burdens on free speech and privacy risks. However, the law’s sponsor, Sen. Jason Anavitarte, pointed to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling supporting similar age verification laws, predicting SB 351 will eventually be enforced. Georgia’s Attorney General plans to appeal, emphasizing parental rights and child protection online.

by Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder
July 1, 2025

Georgia kids can continue liking, commenting and subscribing without notifying their parents this summer after a federal judge put a temporary hold on the state’s new social media age verification law while the case moves forward – but the bill’s author says a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling bodes well for the ban.

Senate Bill 351, which was set to go into effect July 1, would require social media companies to get a parent’s permission before they allowed a minor to create an account. All Georgians would also have to verify their age before accessing websites with material deemed harmful to minors.

On Thursday, Judge Amy Totenberg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of NetChoice, a coalition of social media companies, who argued that the law as written would likely violate free speech protections.

“The Court does not doubt the dangers posed by young people’s overwhelming exposure to social media,” Totenberg wrote. “But, in its effort to aid parents, the Act’s solution creates serious obstacles for all Georgians, including teenagers, to engage in protected speech activities and would highly likely be unconstitutional.”

Totenberg said the law would curb the speech rights of young people, impose a burden on all Georgians to participate in online speech, potentially put Georgians’ private data at risk and step into parents’ decisions on how to raise their children.

But Totenberg said the law’s biggest downfall comes in its long list of exemptions, which include news, sports, and entertainment sites, interactive gaming platforms, streaming services and more.

“For example, SB 351 would presumably apply to the Georgia Bulldogs Reddit forum, which features user-generated content. But it would exempt Barstool Sports, which features provider-generated content. It would apply to news coverage posted by users on X, but not news coverage posted by The New York Times to its own liveblog.”

Totenberg found that amounts to a content-based restriction on speech, which triggers a higher level of scrutiny – which she said Georgia’s law doesn’t meet.

“Because of the enormous burdens imposed on the First Amendment rights of children, adults, and social media platforms — along with the significant tailoring issues inherent in the law — even the State’s serious interest here cannot justify SB 351 under the First Amendment’s rigorous standards,” she said.

NetChoice celebrated the win in a statement.

“This is a major victory for free speech, constitutional clarity and the rights of all Georgians to engage in public discourse without intrusive government overreach,” said Chris Marchese, NetChoice director of litigation. “We are grateful the court recognized what we’ve long argued: SB 351 isn’t just poorly crafted — it’s profoundly unconstitutional.”

But the bill’s author, state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, a Dallas Republican who is now the Senate majority leader, said their victory is likely to be short-lived.

In a statement, Anavitarte pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that backed a Texas state law requiring age verification for pornographic websites.

“One day after liberal Obama Appointee, US District Court Judge, Amy Totenberg, issued an injunction preventing Georgia’s age verification law from taking effect, The Supreme Court found that laws like SB 351 ‘have only an incidental effect on protected speech and that The First Amendment leaves undisturbed States’ traditional power to prevent minors from accessing speech that is obscene from their perspective….Requiring proof of age is an ordinary and appropriate means of enforcing an age-based limit on obscenity to minors,’” Anavitarte said.

“Based on Friday’s ruling at The Supreme Court, Judge Totenberg should be left with no choice but to allow SB 351 to go into effect,” he added. “I am immensely grateful for Justice Clarence Thomas’ well written opinion and remain optimistic that SB 351 will go into effect in its entirety.”

Attorney General Chris Carr’s said Carr intends to appeal the ruling.

“We will continue to defend commonsense measures that empower parents and protect our children online,” said Carr spokesperson Kara Murray.

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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

The post Judge blocks Georgia’s new social media age verification law just before it was set to start appeared first on georgiarecorder.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article provides a balanced report on Georgia’s social media age verification law by presenting both the legal challenge emphasizing free speech concerns and the bill author’s perspective highlighting parental control and child protection. It quotes judicial reasoning against the law’s constitutionality alongside statements from the Republican bill sponsor and the Attorney General, showing arguments on both sides without overt editorializing. The tone and framing remain largely factual and neutral, aiming to inform readers about the ongoing legal and political debate without taking a partisan stance.

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