What happened
U.S. and Chinese negotiators this morning announced a 90-day lowering of tariffs while they work on a broader deal to end President Donald Trump's trade war with the world's No. 2 economy. Under the agreement, U.S. tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on U.S. imports to 10% from 125%. The new rates were slated to begin Wednesday.

Who said what
"We concluded that we have a shared interest," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the U.S. delegation in Geneva alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. "The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling." Asian markets and U.S. futures rose sharply on the news. 

"Such a sharp U-turn by the U.S. on tariffs on a Monday morning is quite the surprise," said Arne Petimezas at AFS Group in Amsterdam. Trump "has toned down his tariffs faster than anyone thought he could." Don't "take everything we hear at the moment at face value," said Jan von Gerich at Nordea in Helsinki. "If you want to end up with low tariffs then why do it like this? It's still bouncy."

What next?
The 90-day reprieve is a "more civilized way to divorce," Alicia García Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at the investment bank Natixis, said to The Washington Post. "The deal is not a solution," but "basically an attempt, hopefully successful, of avoiding a global recession."

What happened
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said today that it will disband and disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey. The decision was announced through the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the PKK, after a party congress in northern Iraq.

Who said what
Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan (pictured on the flags above) called for his group to disband in February, and the PKK declared a ceasefire March 1, on condition that Turkey create a legal framework for peace talks. "The PKK has completed its historic mission" and "decided to dissolve" its "organizational structure" and "end the armed struggle," the group said in a statement this morning. 

The decision "promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East," The Associated Press said. It should have "far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with U.S. forces," Reuters said. The insurgency, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984, also "handicapped the regional economy for decades." Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Turkey's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision was an "important step toward a terror-free Turkey."

What next?
"Details of the peace initiative have not been made public," including what will happen to the PKK's fighters, "how weapons would be disposed of and who would monitor" the process, the AP said. "Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the group — most recently in 2015 — have ended with failure."