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 to take 115 percentage points off the tariffs they had imposed upon each other’s exports at the apex of the brief trade war. The change leaves American tariffs on China at 30 percent and Chinese tariffs on the U.S. at 10 percent.

It is possible that the tariffs could climb again after a 90-day pause agreed between the two nations.

But the stage of the tariff battle that began with Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement of steep levies against dozens of nations appears to be over.

Here are the winners and losers.

Winners

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

The Treasury Department secretary emerged as the single most effective advocate of a softer, shorter-term tariff approach — and his argument won the day.

Speaking about the deal with China, Bessent asserted that the sky-high tariffs had become “the equivalent of an embargo, and neither side wants that. We do want trade.’'

Bessent predicted last month there would be a de-escalation between the U.S. and China.

He became a counterpoint to trade adviser and Trump loyalist Peter Navarro, who is a vigorous proponent of high, long-term tariffs aimed at sparking a resurgence in American manufacturing.

Bessent won the internal........

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