BERLIN/LOS ANGELES, May 12 (Reuters) - German container

shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAGF ) on Monday welcomed an

agreement between the United States and China to temporarily

slash reciprocal tariffs, saying it expected to be buoyed by a

resulting increase in bookings from China to the U.S.

The United States will cut extra tariffs it imposed on

Chinese imports in April to 30% from 145% and Chinese duties on

U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125% for the next 90 days,

the two sides said on Monday.

Trade between the world's two largest economies plummeted in

the midst of the trade standoff, prompting container shipping

companies like MSC and Cosco to suspend regular

routes or cancel individual voyages. Others considered switching

to smaller ships.

The reprieve could spark a rush of shipments to the United

States, which some Chinese factories were preparing for, and

send off-contract spot rates higher.

"We expect bookings from China to the U.S. to increase,

which should help us... into peak season," the company said in

an emailed statement.

The ocean shipping peak season typically refers to the

August to October period, when U.S. retailers stock up on goods

for the winter holiday season dominated by Halloween,

Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAGF ) continued sailing during the downturn, albeit

with plans to downsize ships - a move that could put the carrier

at an advantage over rivals that culled sailings, should

customers rush in goods during the 90-day reprieve.

"Originally, we had planned to use smaller ships for

transports from China to (the U.S. coasts) but may reverse that

if demand is strong," Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAGF ) said.

Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said on Thursday that

in two weeks the Danish firm had removed 20% of capacity on the

China to United States route and transferred it to other routes.

Maersk could switch that back as quickly if customers ask

for it, Clerc said.

Average transit time on the Transpacific trade is 22 days,

so customers will take the 90-day window of opportunity to ship

as many goods as possible into the United States, said Peter

Sand, chief analyst at pricing platform Xeneta.

"This will put upward pressure on freight rates."