US and China extend trade truce for another 90 days
Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive order for the extension, and that 'all other elements of the Agreement will remain the same'.
Beijing at the same time also announced the extension of the tariff pause, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The previous deadline was set to expire at 12.01am on Tuesday.
Had that happened the US could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30%, and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on US exports to China.
The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the US companies doing business with China.
China said on Tuesday it would extend relief to American companies who were placed on an export control list and an unreliable entities list.
After Mr Trump initially announced tariffs in April, China restricted exports of dual-use goods to some American companies, while banning others from trading or investing in China.
The Ministry of Commerce said it would stop those restrictions for some companies, while giving others another 90-day extension.
Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Mr Trump, who has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every country on earth.
The EU, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Mr Trump, accepting once unthinkably US high tariffs (15% on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off something worse.
In June, the US and China reached an agreement to ease tensions.
The US said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production, and China agreed to make it easier for US firms to get access to rare earths.
'The US has realised it does not have the upper hand,' said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant US trade representative for China affairs.
In May, the US and China had averted an economic catastrophe by reducing massive tariffs they'd slapped on each other's products, which had reached as high as 145% against China and 125% against the US.
Those triple-digit tariffs threatened to effectively end trade between the US and China and caused a frightening sell-off in financial markets.
In a May meeting in Geneva, America's tariffs went back down to a still-high 30% and China's to 10%.
Ms Reade does not expect much beyond limited agreements such as the Chinese saying they will buy more American soybeans and promising to do more to stop the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl and to allow the continued flow of rare-earth magnets.
But the tougher issues will likely linger, and 'the trade war will continue grinding ahead for years into the future', said Jeff Moon, a former US diplomat and trade official.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
13 minutes ago
- Reuters
Indian rupee rises the most in a month on broad dollar weakness
MUMBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee gained the most in more than a month on Wednesday as softer U.S. inflation data bolstered hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, weighing on the dollar. The local currency unit gained 0.31% - its highest intraday gain since July 3 - and closed at 87.4400, compared to Tuesday's close of 87.7125. U.S. inflation data released on Tuesday showed consumer prices rose modestly in the world's largest economy in July, with impact from recent tariffs staying limited. This provided a boost to emerging market currencies including the Indian rupee, as the odds for a September rate cut from the Fed climbed to 94%. Markets are now pricing in 60 basis points of cuts this year, lifting risk appetite among investors. Investor confidence in the dollar was further dented after the White House said President Donald Trump was weighing legal action against Fed Chair Jerome Powell over his handling of renovations at the central bank's headquarters. The dollar index was down 0.4% at 97.645 at 1544 IST. 'For the USD/INR pair, the outlook is bearish for the next couple of days," said Jigar Trivedi, senior currency and commodity analyst at Reliance Securities. The uncertainty over U.S. tariffs remains the dominant drag on sentiment, Trivedi said, adding that the upcoming Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday is a key risk event that could sway the currency's direction. The stakes of the meeting, which aims to explore a resolution to the war in Ukraine, are high for the rupee. Market participants expect any resolution to the conflict to have a bearing on additional tariffs that President Trump has imposed on Indian goods in response to New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. Meanwhile, most Asian currencies advanced, with the Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian ringgit up 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, and the South Korean won rising 0.5%.
Reuters
13 minutes ago
- Reuters
FTSE 100 hits 1-week high on US rate cut optimism
Aug 13 (Reuters) - London shares rallied on Wednesday, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 index reaching a one-week intraday peak, as expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut buoyed demand for risk assets globally. As of 0943 GMT, FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was up 0.2%, rising for a third consecutive session. The domestically focused midcap index gained 0.3%. Global stocks continued to climb after Tuesday's release of U.S. inflation data for July. The figures, which was viewed as a critical indicator for a potential Fed interest rate cut in September, largely met expectations. This bolstered confidence in a 25-basis-point rate reduction and propelled Wall Street to fresh highs in the previous session. The positive sentiment swept through UK markets on Wednesday, with healthcare (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab and defence (.FTNMX502010), opens new tab sectors leading the way, rising 1.5% and 1%, respectively. Investor attention is now shifting to Friday's high-stakes talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed at negotiating a peace deal to end the conflict in Ukraine. European and Ukrainian leaders will speak to Trump on Wednesday to emphasize the risks of compromising Kyiv's interests in pursuit of a ceasefire. Meanwhile, financials came under pressure with the non-life insurers index (.FTNMX303020), opens new tab falling 3.7%. Beazley (BEZG.L), opens new tab tumbled 11% after lowering its annual premium growth forecast, partly hurt by subdued demand for its cyber and property risk insurance. Housing sector (.FTNMX402020), opens new tab also fell 0.9%, as homebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L), opens new tab dropped 2.9%, after cautioning about next year's margin despite forecasting higher home sales. Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab inched 0.8% down. The LNG major said on Tuesday that Venture Global (VG.N), opens new tab has won a legal battle against it over its failure to deliver liquefied natural gas under long-term contracts starting in 2023. Among other movers, infrastructure products maker Hill & Smith (HILS.L), opens new tab topped the gains on the midcap index, rising 12%, after its half-yearly results and announcement of a 100 million British pound ($135.70 million) share buyback program. ($1 = 0.7369 pounds)
The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Leaders in frantic phone diplomacy with Trump ahead of Putin summit on Ukraine
Update: Date: 2025-08-13T09:48:01.000Z Title: European leaders Content: Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join calls with Trump and Vance in last chance to shape US position before Alaska meeting Ukraine will not cede land that could be Russian springboard for new war Jakub Krupa Wed 13 Aug 2025 11.48 CEST First published on Wed 13 Aug 2025 09.42 CEST From 9.42am CEST 09:42 Jakub Krupa will speak with the US president, Donald Trump, and his vice-president, JD Vance, today, consulting ahead of this Friday's summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Representing Team Europe are the host, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. They will be joined by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, António Costa, and that famous Trump-whisperer, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. They will be also joined by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who in a further show of unity with his partners will not only be on the call, but will be joining the host in person in Berlin. The series of calls will begin with internal consultations between and Zelenskyy around 2pm local time, followed by a call with Trump an hour later and a debrief of 'the coalition of the willing' later. The call with Trump will be the ' last chance to substantially shape Trump's thoughts going into the meeting in Alaska on Friday, and repeat some of the red lines put forward by Ukraine. Zelenskyy has previously said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his country's territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war. Last week Russia indicated it was prepared to consider a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for the first time, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of Donbas it still controlled. Though Trump then suggested that Russia and Ukraine could engage in some 'swapping of territories', Zelenskyy said he understood that Russia was 'simply offering not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere' and that swaps were not on the table. With growing uncertainty about which Trump will show up to talks with Putin in Alaska on Friday – the one who repeatedly said was 'disappointed' with Putin, or the one who wants to reset relations with Moscow – this could be one of the most consequential phone calls in years for Europe and Ukraine's future. I will bring you all the key updates here. It's Wednesday, 13 August 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. 11.48am CEST 11:48 Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry's spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said, in comments relayed by Reuters, that Trump and Putin would discuss 'all the accumulated issues' in the US-Russia bilateral relations during their meeting on Friday, dismissing the consultations with European countries as 'insignificant.' 11.31am CEST 11:31 But while today's calls will be all about projecting Europe's unity behind Ukraine, Hungary is very clearly not keen on that at all. After yesterday's criticism from the country's prime minister Viktor Orbán, who refused to sign the EU27's statement backing Ukraine, his foreign minister Péter Szijjártó is the one taking aim at Zelenskyy today. In a post on social media quoting Zelenskyy's calls for ceasefire and peace talks, he said: 'Hungary has been advocating a ceasefire and peace talks for 3.5 years. Ukraine would have been better off if @ZelenskyyUa had done the same. Hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved and millions spared from fleeing their homes.' It's not entirely surprising to see Szijjártó criticise Ukraine, though: he has long been an advocate for closer talks with Russia, having been awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in December 2021 and being a regular visitor to Moscow in the last few years. In March, Bloomberg reported that Szijjártó visited the Russian capital at least 13 times since the beginning of the full-scale aggression on Ukraine in early 2022, raising some concerns among EU allies. 11.22am CEST 11:22 Just hours before the calls, Ukraine has announced a €500m financing deal to help with the country's energy security, signed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and guaranteed by the EU. The deal gives the state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz a financing line, the EBRD's largest single loan facility in Ukraine, to cover emergency gas purchases. Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that 'for the first time, such a loan is provided under EU guarantee, without a Ukrainian state guarantee.' 'This will allow Ukraine to better prepare for the heating season and provide Ukrainian homes with heat and light even on the most difficult days of winter,' she said. The EBRD's press statement said: The latest EBRD finance to Naftogaz follows major Russian attacks on the company's upstream gas production and processing facilities in the first half of 2025. These have resulted in significant production losses for the year, as the company rebuilds its damaged operations, and created the need for more gas imports. 11.00am CEST 11:00 Andrew Roth in Washington The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable – and often dangerous – affair. It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinistö, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics. By the time he came out of the room, Trump looked dazzled by the Kremlin leader. Asked at a press conference about the conclusions of the US intelligence community that Russia had interfered in the elections, Trump said: 'President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be.' Somehow, the stakes are even higher as Trump and Putin plan to meet on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, where Trump has said the two will discuss 'land swapping' in Putin's first meeting with a G7 leader since his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. are fearful that Trump could once again emerge from a closed-door meeting preaching the Kremlin gospel. The White House has been lowering expectations for the summit – a sign that no concrete deal is on the table. 'This is really a feel-out meeting, a little bit,' Trump said during a news conference on Monday. But Putin will still try his luck to shape Trump's image of what a peace deal could entail in a way that will bring maximum benefit to the Kremlin. Putin 'wants a deal with Trump that will be presented to Kyiv and other European capitals as a fait accompli,' wrote John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a former ambassador to Ukraine. The lack of invites for 'has the smell of the Yalta Conference in 1945 … where the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom decided the fate of half of Europe over the heads of those nations'. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that the meeting between Trump and Putin would be one-on-one, and a 'listening exercise' for Trump during which he could suss out the Russian point of view. 'That's the way Trump does it. He just wings it,' said Fiona Hill, the former presidential aide. 'And Putin likes sparring … he prides himself on being able to be light on his feet in these kinds of settings,' she said. The lack of advisers in the room has raised a key question: will any agreements made in a private setting, even if interpreters or other notetakers are present, lead to lasting outcomes? 10.25am CEST 10:25 In his latest update before travelling to Berlin, Zelenskyy repeated his key lines about 'putting pressure on Russia' to achieve a peace settlement. But in what feels like a pointed warning about Putin, he added: We must learn from the experience of Ukraine, our partners, to prevent deception by Russia. There is no sign now that the Russians are preparing to end the war. He said that 'our coordinated efforts and joint steps … can definitely force Russia to make peace.' 10.11am CEST 10:11 As part of what promises to be a very busy day for diplomacy, we are also expecting to get press statements from Merz and Zelenskyy around 3pm BST (4pm CEST), after their call with Trump. So to help you plan your day, the rough timings appear to be: 1pm BST, 2pm CEST – Internal Europe call with Zelenskyy2pm BST, 3pm CEST – Call with Trump and JD Vance 3pm BST, 4pm CEST – Press statements by Merz and Zelenskyy, call with 'the coalition of the willing' Updated at 10.20am CEST 9.43am CEST 09:43 The German government's spokesperson has confirmed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be 'working in Berlin' today, joining Merz in person for the call with Trump and Vance. The pair is also expected to meet for a separate bilateral meeting, expected to be a further show of support from the German chancellor. 9.42am CEST 09:42 Jakub Krupa will speak with the US president, Donald Trump, and his vice-president, JD Vance, today, consulting ahead of this Friday's summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Representing Team Europe are the host, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. They will be joined by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, António Costa, and that famous Trump-whisperer, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. They will be also joined by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who in a further show of unity with his partners will not only be on the call, but will be joining the host in person in Berlin. The series of calls will begin with internal consultations between and Zelenskyy around 2pm local time, followed by a call with Trump an hour later and a debrief of 'the coalition of the willing' later. The call with Trump will be the ' last chance to substantially shape Trump's thoughts going into the meeting in Alaska on Friday, and repeat some of the red lines put forward by Ukraine. Zelenskyy has previously said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his country's territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war. Last week Russia indicated it was prepared to consider a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for the first time, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of Donbas it still controlled. Though Trump then suggested that Russia and Ukraine could engage in some 'swapping of territories', Zelenskyy said he understood that Russia was 'simply offering not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere' and that swaps were not on the table. With growing uncertainty about which Trump will show up to talks with Putin in Alaska on Friday – the one who repeatedly said was 'disappointed' with Putin, or the one who wants to reset relations with Moscow – this could be one of the most consequential phone calls in years for Europe and Ukraine's future. I will bring you all the key updates here. It's Wednesday, 13 August 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.
