US, China reach 90-day agreement to reduce reciprocal tariffs
The United States and China agree to slash tariffs for at least the next few days. The major percentage cuts by each side, and what to expect when the stock market opens to start the new week. Also, President Donald Trump plans to announce an initiative on prescription drugs Monday morning, May 12. He plans to invoke an executive order called “Most Favored Nation,” which could affect prices significantly. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, May 12, 2025.
US, China reach 90-day agreement to reduce reciprocal tariffs by 115%
The U.S. and China have agreed to significantly cut reciprocal tariffs against one another — for now.
“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially moved down the tariff levels. Both sides, on the reciprocal tariffs, will move their tariffs down 115%,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in Geneva on Monday, May 12.
The deal follows a weekend of discussions between Bessent, American Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland.
Slashing tariffs by 115% will reduce American levies on Chinese products from 145% to 30%. Additionally, China’s reciprocal tariffs of 125% on American imports will decrease to 10%. The two countries will continue talks on trade and the economy over the next 90 days.
In a joint statement, the U.S. and China also said they will “establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.”
Stock markets worldwide rose almost immediately following the announcement. U.S. futures are up on Monday morning, with the Dow expected to rise about 2%, while futures in the S&P 500 are nearly 3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 3.5%.
House Republicans propose deep Medicaid cuts as part of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
House Republicans have unveiled their plan to save American taxpayers billions of dollars as part of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Late Sunday night, May 11, they proposed at least $880 billion in cuts, many of which were to Medicaid, to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.
While Republicans claimed they’re rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warned that millions of Americans will lose Medicaid coverage. Currently, more than 70 million Americans receive free health care through Medicaid.
A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicated that the proposal would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over a decade. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet Tuesday, May 13, to debate and refine the package.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a deadline for Memorial Day to pass Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending cuts.
Trump to sign order cutting prescription drug prices by up to 80%
Trump announced plans to sign an executive order on Monday, May 12, that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals. In a post on his Truth Social platform Sunday, May 11, he said the order will drop prices “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.”
The president said he plans to resurrect a policy from his first term to do it.
The “Most Favored Nation” rule would lower drug costs by linking payments for certain medications to their prices in other countries. It would apply to Medicare Part B payments for specific drugs administered in doctors’ offices, not at home. However, it did not specify which drugs it includes.
Federal courts blocked the finalized rule in late 2020, and then-President Joe Biden rescinded it in 2021.
The directive also comes as the Trump administration seeks to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports — a move that some fear could worsen shortages of certain drugs, particularly generic medicines and potentially increase prices.
India, Pakistan report peace along border overnight amid ceasefire
Indian and Pakistani authorities reported that there was no firing overnight along the heavily militarized region between their countries. This marks the first time the two nations have reported no fighting since a terror attack in disputed Kashmir left 26 people dead, mostly tourists.
It comes after India and Pakistan agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to halt the escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals that threatened regional peace.
Senior military officials from India and Pakistan will speak later Monday, May 12, to assess whether the ceasefire holds. Both countries accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Fears have arisen that it will not hold just hours after the announcement.
Not long after the announcement on Saturday, May 10, Pakistan reopened all its airports and restored flight operations. India reopened all 32 airports on Monday, which it had temporarily shut down due to deadly violence.
Russia appears to reject ceasefire, proposes ‘direct talks’ with Ukraine
Russia has reportedly rejected the ceasefire that Ukraine has made a condition for initiating peace talks to end the war between the two countries.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump said: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday in Turkey to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath.”
The president said Ukraine should agree to that meeting anyway, stating, “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
Shortly after that post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he is prepared to meet with Putin this week.
This all follows a meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, May 10, during which Ukraine’s major European allies gave Russia an ultimatum: agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by today, or face “massive” new sanctions.
While Putin did not acknowledge the ultimatum in a late-night address Saturday, he did propose holding “direct talks” with Ukraine. It’s something that has not occurred since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
In a post on X on Sunday, May 11, Zelenskyy called on Putin to attend the talks in person, saying, “I will be in Turkey this Thursday, and I expect Putin to come to Turkey as well, personally.”
Hamas agrees to release last remaining American hostage
Hamas said on Sunday, May 11, that it will release the last living American hostage. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hamas said Israeli-American Edan Alexander “will be released as part of the steps aimed at achieving a cease-fire, opening the crossings and allowing humanitarian aid and relief into our beloved Gaza Strip.”
It didn’t clarify what it would specifically receive in return for Alexander’s release. He is believed to be the last remaining hostage with American citizenship held by Hamas.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, confirmed to NBC News on Sunday, May 11, that he will be in the Middle East on Monday, May 12, to secure the release of Alexander.
Alexander is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel, who grew up in New Jersey. He was serving in the Israel Defense Forces on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and took more than 200 hostages. About 20 living hostages remain.
The head of the Hamas negotiating team said in a statement that his impending release is part of “the steps being taken to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossing and allow aid.”
Trump said on his Truth Social platform, “This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of mediators to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and their remains to their loved ones. Hopefully, this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas fell apart back in March.
Just last week, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was planning to capture the entire Gaza Strip. More than 2 million Palestinians, who live in Gaza, would be forced to move out and leave.
Newark airport faces more flight disruptions over equipment issues
Flight disruptions persist at one of the nation’s busiest airports following another equipment issue over the weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration had to order a 45-minute ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday morning, May 11.
It occurred after a radar outage at the air traffic control facility that guides planes at Newark on Friday, May 9, less than two weeks after a similar 90-second outage at the end of April.
While the FAA said Sunday’s incident was an audio issue, not an outage, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that more U.S. airports could experience similar disruptions as the busy summer travel season begins, asserting, “What you see in Newark is going to happen in other places across the country.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
