The U.S. and China announced a deal Monday to drastically reduce monumental 145% and 125% tariffs the countries have levied on each other.
Under the new agreement, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will fall to 30% and China will levy a 10% tariff on American products starting Wednesday that will last for at least 90 days.
Stocks bounced up on the news and President Donald J. Trump called the deal a "reset" in U.S.-China relations, which grew frosty amid a tit-for-tat trade war. The deal was reached after talks in Switzerland over the weekend.
But there's still a danger.
"Tariffs are changing so rapidly that any future escalation might cause firms to sit out trade awaiting some anticipated resolution or reduction in tariffs ahead," Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics told the BBC.
That adds to uncertainty already rippling through the heavy-duty aftermarket and business at large where businesses are holding off on expenditures and looking to conserve capital when and where they can.
At the White House, Trump says he does not expect U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to return to 145% after the pause.
NPR reports businesses that rely on imports halted deliveries to avoid the tax, with cargo traffic at the Port of Los Angeles dropping by more than a third, year-over-year.
Clothing importer Bonnie Ross told the network she's rushing to get merchandise into the U.S.
"Now it's going to be a rush because everybody wants it out in the next 90 days," she says. "What is going to happen to the freight rates?"
Discussions between the two countries are set to continue.
