US, China eye 90-day tariff truce extension
Following two days of discussions with senior Chinese officials in Stockholm, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said President Donald Trump will decide whether to extend the truce struck between the two countries in May.
Attending a press conference with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer said, "We're going to talk to the president about whether that's something that he wants to do. It's certainly something that's been under discussion."
Li Chenggang, China's vice minister of commerce, who spoke to the media separately, said both sides agreed to push for the extension, without specifying how long they may stretch the pause.
Li also said the two countries discussed each side's major trade and economic concerns and agreed to maintain "close communication."
Bessent suggested that both sides are exploring another 90-day extension.
He said the Chinese officials were surprised by "the magnitude of" the Trump administration's recent trade agreement with Japan, as well as a similar deal with the European Union, and they appeared to be in the mood for wide-ranging discussions about the world's two biggest economies.
The U.S. delegation expressed concerns about China's close economic ties with Russia and Iran, as well as the Asian country's industrial overcapacity and "what that might mean for this year, for the next few years," Bessent said. But he added that the overall tone of the talks was "very constructive."
In mid-May, the United States and China backed away from their respective triple-digit tariff rates imposed during a trade war launched by Trump.
Since then, the truce in the tit-for-tat tariffs that both sides agreed to in Geneva during their first round of trade talks has been in place.
Currently, the Trump administration is enforcing a 10 percent tariff as part of a planned 34 percent hike on all Chinese imports. The 10 percent rate was introduced in early April under the "reciprocal" U.S. tariff scheme, with the remainder to be negotiated during the 90-day pause.
China has also retained a 10 percent tariff as part of a 34 percent retaliatory hike on all U.S. goods, with the remaining 24 percent likewise subject to negotiation.
Separately, the Trump administration has kept a 20 percent tariff in place over what it has called China's insufficient efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
While traveling back to the United States from Scotland, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that he had just heard from Bessent that the two-day meeting in the Swedish capital "went very well."
Asked about his potential in-person meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he looked forward to seeing him, possibly "before the end of the year."
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