Trump stokes fears about what he will do to get his red-carpet moment with Xi
The extension averts a return to the triple-digit tariff war instigated by Trump that effectively created a mutual trade embargo earlier this year before a truce was struck in May.
Allowing more time for trade talks to continue amid easing tensions is a good thing for businesses, global markets, and for those of us who value living in a world where two superpowers aren't waging a dangerous game of economic Armageddon.
The 90-day reprieve has also added to speculation that Trump is clearing the path for a potential summit in China later this year, where he can close out the deal with President Xi Jinping himself against the backdrop of Beijing's stately red-carpet opulence.
But Trump has alarmed the Republicans' China hawks with a string of recent moves where he has swapped cudgel for carrot in what has been widely interpreted as an effort to sweeten the chances of a deal and a meeting with Xi. These include blocking the Taiwanese president's plans to transit through the US on the way to South America, and cancelling a meeting between US officials and Taiwan's defence minister in June.
There is now growing unease among Trump's critics about the shifting Overton window on what a final deal between China and the US could look like, as the US president signals his openness to bargain on US chip policy.
Take his decision to allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chip to China – and the unprecedented development today that the US government will take a 15 per cent cut from the sales revenue.
The move overturns Trump's own decision in April, when he imposed an export ban on H20 chips, building on Biden-era efforts to hobble Beijing's tech advances. Nvidia designed the H20 chip as a China-specific product after the Biden administration banned the sale of the most advanced AI chips.
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