The United States will cut the "de minimis" tariff for low-value items imported from China, a White House executive order said on Monday, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the two sides had agreed on a 90 day pause on measures and that tariffs would come down by over 100 percentage points to 10%.

The White House backed off from the steepest levies, as the costs of an all-out trade war with China threatened global economic growth.