Desk Report,
US-China tariff truce in place for now, Trump to make final decision on extension
US and Chinese officials have agreed to extend a 90-day tariff waiver. The two sides reached the agreement on Tuesday after two days of “constructive talks” in Stockholm, Sweden, to ease the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The trade war between them is posing a major threat to global growth.
US-China tariff truce in place for now, Trump to make final decision on extension
However, no significant progress has been announced in the talks. US officials say President Donald Trump will decide whether to extend the tariff waiver, which expires on August 12, or reimpose tariffs on China at triple-digit rates.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said there is no basis for fear that Trump will refuse to extend the tariff waiver. “The meeting was very constructive. It’s just that the final approval (of the agreement) has not been given yet,” Scott Besant told reporters after the talks.
Trump signed a trade deal with the European Union during a visit to Scotland. Back in Washington, he said, Besant briefed him on the talks with China.
After months of threatening to impose steep tariffs on trading partners, Trump has struck trade deals with the European Union, Japan, Indonesia and other countries. But China’s powerful economy and its control over the flow of rare earth minerals have made U.S. negotiations with the country particularly complicated.
In May, the United States and China backed away from plans to impose triple-digit tariffs on each other (i.e., a trade freeze). If the tariffs were to go into effect, bilateral trade would have been cut off. But a no-deal could disrupt global supply chains and financial markets again. Besant said he would return to Washington on Wednesday to meet with Trump. He told reporters that the president himself would make the final decision on whether to extend the deadline.
U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer said a 90-day extension could be an option.
“We certainly had constructive discussions and have the opportunity to come back with a positive report. However, the decision to extend the tariff suspension will be made by President Trump himself,” Greer said after talks at the Swedish Prime Minister’s office in Stockholm.
