President Donald Trump has once again delayed the implementation of sweeping tariffs on China, signing an executive order on Monday to extend the deadline for higher tariffs until 10 November. The announcement came just hours before the existing agreement between the world’s two largest economies was set to expire.
The move extends a temporary truce between the two nations, which had been due to end on Monday. The Chinese commerce ministry later confirmed that China would suspend additional tariffs on US goods for another 90 days, maintaining its 10% tariffs on US products for the time being.
The statement from China’s commerce ministry also noted that it would take action to address non-tariff barriers faced by American products and would delay adding US companies to its list of trade and investment restrictions, which had originally been planned for April.
“We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state… and strive for positive outcomes based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
Earlier in the day, Chinese officials had expressed hopes for “positive” trade outcomes as the 90-day pause reached between the US and China in May was set to expire. The extension came after trade talks last month in Stockholm, where both sides indicated they were optimistic about future progress.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, expressed confidence in a potential deal, stating that the US had “the makings” of a trade agreement with China and was optimistic about a path forward.
However, failure to reach a deal could have major consequences. Trump had previously threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese goods as high as 245%, while China had warned of retaliatory tariffs of up to 125%. This set the stage for a full-scale trade war between the world’s largest economies, with significant global repercussions.
Trump urged China to quadruple its purchases
In a post on TruthSocial over the weekend, Trump urged China to quadruple its purchases of US soybeans to help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.
The Federal Reserve and many economists have warned that these tariffs will likely drive up prices in the US.
Meanwhile, ahead of the tariff deadline, chipmakers Nvidia and AMD struck a deal with the US government, agreeing to pay 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in exchange for export licences.
Former US trade negotiator Stephen Olson described the deal as “the monetisation of US trade policy,” adding that US companies must now pay the government for permission to export. “If that’s the case, we’ve entered into a new and dangerous world,” he warned.
