U.S. and China extend tariff truce by 90 days, staving off surge in duties
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he had signed an executive order suspending the imposition of higher tariffs until 12:01 a.m. EST on Nov. 10, with all other elements of the truce to remain in place.
China's Commerce Ministry issued a parallel pause on extra tariffs early on Tuesday, also postponing for 90 days the addition of U.S. firms it had targeted in April to trade and investment restriction lists.
"The United States continues to have discussions with the PRC to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship and our resulting national and economic security concerns," Trump's executive order stated, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China. "Through these discussions, the PRC continues to take significant steps toward remedying non-reciprocal trade arrangements and addressing the concerns of the United States relating to economic and national security matters."
The tariff truce between Beijing and Washington had been due to expire Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT. The extension until early November buys crucial time for the autumn surge of imports for the Christmas season, including electronics, apparel and toys, at lower tariff rates.
A terrace of a shopping mall during sunset hour, in Beijing's central business district on Monday. Over five consecutive months of declines, the U.S. trade gap with China has narrowed by $22.2 billion — a 70% reduction from a year earlier. |
REUTERS
The new order prevents U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from shooting up to 145%, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods were set to hit 125% — rates that would have resulted in a virtual trade embargo between the two countries. It locks in place — at least for now — a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, with Chinese duties on U.S. imports at 10%.
"We'll see what happens," Trump told a news conference earlier Monday, highlighting what he called his good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China said the extension was "a measure to further implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their June 5 call," and would provide stability to the global economy.
Trump told CNBC last week that the U.S. and China were getting very close to a trade agreement and he would meet with Xi before the end of the year if a deal was struck.
"It's positive news," said Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official who is now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. "Combined with some of the de-escalatory steps both the United States and China have taken in recent weeks, it demonstrated that both sides are trying to see if they can reach some kind of a deal that would lay the groundwork for a Xi-Trump meeting this fall."
The two sides in May announced a truce in their trade dispute after talks in Geneva, Switzerland, agreeing to a 90-day period to allow further talks. They met again in Stockholm, Sweden, in late July, and U.S. negotiators returned to Washington with a recommendation that Trump extend the deadline.
The view from the terrace of a shopping mall overlooking the central business district, in Beijing on Monday. U.S. imports from China early this year had surged to beat tariffs set to be imposed by Washington, but dropped steeply in June, U.S. Commerce Department data showed last week. |
REUTERS
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said repeatedly that the triple-digit import duties both sides slapped on each other's goods in the spring were untenable and had essentially imposed a trade embargo between the world's two largest economies.
"It wouldn't be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn't go right down to the wire," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a senior White House trade official during Trump's first term now with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
She said Trump had likely pressed China for further concessions before agreeing to the extension. Trump pushed for additional concessions on Sunday, urging China to quadruple its soybean purchases, although analysts questioned the feasibility of any such deal. Trump did not repeat the demand Monday.
"The whole reason for the 90-day pause in the first place was to lay the groundwork for broader negotiations, and there's been a lot of noise about everything from soybeans to export controls to excess capacity over the weekend," Shaw said.
Ryan Majerus, a former U.S. trade official now with the King & Spalding law firm, said the news would give both sides more time to work through long-standing trade concerns.
"This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue, and as the U.S. and China work toward a framework deal in the fall," he said.
Imports from China early this year had surged to beat Trump's tariffs, but dropped steeply in June, U.S. Commerce Department data showed last week. The U.S. trade deficit with China tumbled by roughly a third in June to $9.5 billion, its narrowest since February 2004. Over five consecutive months of declines, the U.S. trade gap with China has narrowed by $22.2 billion — a 70% reduction from a year earlier.
Washington has also been pressing Beijing to stop buying Russian oil to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine, with Trump threatening to impose secondary tariffs on China.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
26 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, U.N. report says
United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the most senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), formed in 2018 to analyze evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, gang rape, strangulation and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. "We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the U.N. team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the U.N. report said. The military has said it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. Perpetrators identified so far include high-level commanders, the report said, although names were withheld due to ongoing investigations and concerns about alerting the individuals. Investigators focused on torture partly because many victims were able to identify perpetrators individually which Koumjian, a former prosecutor, said could help with future convictions. "People often know the names or they certainly know the faces of those who torture them or who torture their friends," Koumjian told reporters in Geneva. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then, the United Nations says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a new government, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIMM is investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017 when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown, and those affecting all groups since the coup. The IIMM is supporting jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain and the International Criminal Court. However, Koumjian said U.N. budget cuts threaten its work. Donations for its research on sexual violence and crimes against children as well as funding for witness security are set to run out at year-end, he said. "All of this would have a very substantial effect on our ability to continue to document the crimes and provide evidence that will be useful to jurisdictions prosecuting these cases," he said.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Japan's Nikkei hits intraday high, ends at all-time high
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended Tuesday at an all-time high of 42,718 points as buying surged from the outset. Auto and other export-oriented issues led gains as uncertainty over US tariffs on Japanese imports faded. Another factor was the US announcement that it would extend its deadline for the imposition of higher tariffs on China. This eased concerns about trade friction between the two countries. About 15 minutes into trading, the Nikkei surpassed its previous intraday high set in July last year. Active buying continued in the afternoon, pushing the index to a new intraday record of 42,999 points. Some profit-taking emerged later in the session, but the index still ended 897 points higher than Friday's close, a record finish. However, some market sources say the market may be overheating, as the rally came even though Japanese automakers reported lower profits or even losses due to US tariffs. One market source said investors are now focused on how the tariffs will affect the US economy, adding that share prices may be swayed by upcoming economic indicators.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Media: Nvidia, AMD agree to pay 15% of China chip sales to US govt.
Western media say chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15 percent of their revenues from chip sales to China, as part of an arrangement to secure export licenses. The US government tightened restrictions on semiconductor exports to China in 2022. Chips that the two firms developed for the country became subject to US export controls in April this year. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that chips that would be allowed to be shipped to China are "obsolete." He also said he had initially asked for 20 percent for the country, but that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang negotiated with Trump to bring the number down to 15 percent. Nvidia told NHK that the firm follows rules the US government sets for its participation in worldwide markets. The Wall Street Journal cited experts who said the Trump administration is signaling that security priorities can take a back seat for the right price.
