90-day extension of US-China tariff truce is likely, US commerce secretary says
'I think we're going to leave that to the trade team and to the president to make those decisions, but it feels like likely that they're going to come to an agreement and extend that for another 90 days,' he said on Fox News when asked if the truce, which is set to expire on Tuesday, would be extended.
Lutnick made similar comments last week while the talks were under way July 28 and 29, noting that a 90-day extension was a likely outcome of negotiations. But after the talks, only the Chinese side declared a consensus on extending the pause on tariff increases.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a CBS interview last Friday that the two sides were 'working towards' an extension.
The commerce secretary spoke hours after US President Donald Trump's sweeping worldwide tariffs came into effect on Thursday, imposing at least 10 per cent on imports from about 90 countries, after multiple rounds of delays since they were first announced in April.
Since April, the US has gradually increased tariffs on Chinese imports to as much as 145 per cent. In retaliation, Beijing imposed tariffs of up to 125 per cent and introduced export controls on strategic raw materials.
In May, both sides agreed in Geneva to a 90-day suspension of new tariffs. A second round of talks followed in June in London, where an understanding to ease export controls on US semiconductors and Chinese rare earth minerals was struck, before the most recent round in Stockholm.
Still, much appears in flux. On Wednesday Trump floated the idea that China could be subject to punitive tariffs for purchasing Russian oil, hours after he imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India for doing so. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested on the same day that such action was unlikely because the higher duties might hurt the US.
On Thursday, Lutnick also elaborated on Trump's Wednesday announcement that companies that manufacture semiconductors within the US would be exempt from 100 per cent tariffs on the chips they import, emphasising the role of an auditor in the process.
'If you commit to build in America during his term, and if you file it with the Commerce Department, and if your auditor oversees you building it all the way through, then he will allow you to import your chips while you're building without a tariff,' Lutnick said on Fox.
Lutnick's remarks came as Trump continues his pressure on the semiconductor industry, posting on Truth Social on Thursday that Lip-Bu Tan, the chief of California-based Intel, should resign due to being 'highly conflicted'.
Earlier in the week, US Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, sent a letter to the chair of Intel's board contending that Tan's ties to Chinese companies could pose a national security threat. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
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AS the fifth-largest economy in the world right now, Asean's digital economy alone is expected to hit US$1 trillion (RM4.265 trillion) by 2030, with emerging sectors like fintech, green tech, artificial intelligence (AI) and agritech creating demand for skilled talent across the region. Yet, current mobility systems in Asean are not keeping up with the demand, especially for mid-skilled workers, TVET (technical and vocational education and training) graduates and those graduating in growing industries. 'The talent landscape is shifting fast. By 2030, over 60 million young people will enter Asean's workforce,' says TalentCorp Group chief executive officer Thomas Mathew at the preview of the Asean Youth Mobility Compendium recently. 'That's not just a statistic, it's a generation looking for purpose, skills, and pathways. 'The problem? Most of our crossborder mobility still centres on low-skilled roles. 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While leaders often cite Asean's collective GDP and market potential, there is little focus on the region's youth workforce. 'I think that is something we can change and add into the conversation, because I think that will be of interest to the stakeholders that we want to reach out to, whether it's international investors or people who want to penetrate the market within Asean,' Ong says. Don't be scared of brain drain Experts say that Malaysia is actually in a good position to champion a new model of regional talent exchange; one that is built on regional trust, collaboration and 'brain circulation'. 'Malaysia can be one of the key countries that can spearhead this kind of mobility thinking and implementation. 'We would be in a very good position to be able to spur and also work with other countries in the region, especially those that are on a similar development scale to us, to really grow the talent pipeline and talent pool in Asean,' says Ong. 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'Most of my peers studied abroad, especially in the UK, and backpacking across Europe was the norm for them, but for many Malaysian local graduates like myself, even a short trip to Jakarta for our final semester farewell is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime experience of going outside Malaysia. 'And that gap in exposure and mobility is real and it's quite often unspoken,' shares a Malaysian graduate who attended the preview. If Asean is to truly unlock the potential of its youth workforce, the freedom to learn, work, and grow across borders must be made accessible and not just aspirational.
