Trump extends tariff truce with China for 90 days before deadline ends

Trump paused China tariffs for 90 days, hours before the deadline was set to expire. If the deadline had expired, the US could have increased taxes on Chinese imports back to where they stood in April

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (IST) signed an executive order extending the tariff suspension on China for another 90 days. He further added that all the other elements of the agreement would remain the same.

 

Trump announced his private social media platform, Truth Social. He wrote, "I have just signed an Executive Order that will extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days. All other elements of the Agreement will remain the same. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" 

 

The announcement by Trump delays the potentially dangerous showdown between the world's two largest economies again, according to the Associated Press.

 

 

According to a CNBC report, the tariff truce between the US and China was the expected outcome after the latest round of talks between the US and Chinese officials, which took place in Sweden in July. The previous deadline for China tariffs was set to expire at 12.01 am on Tuesday. If the tariff deadline had expired, the US could have increased taxes on Chinese imports back to where they stood in April, when the tariff war between the two largest economies was at its peak. 

 

Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs

 

On April 2, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on more than 100 countries, including China and India. While he paused those tariffs for 90 days for almost every country, China was excluded, which retaliated by imposing tariffs on US exports to China. In April, the US tariffs on Chinese goods shot as high as 145 per cent, whereas China's tariffs on US goods were at 125 per cent, a move which rattled the global stock markets as the fear of a full-blown tariff was at its peak. 

 

US-China pause tariffs

 

After ratcheting up tariffs on exports, both the US and China agreed to pause their tariffs after the negotiators held the first round of talks in Geneva. While the US agreed to bring down the tariffs back to 30 per cent, China, on the other hand, dropped its duties to 10 per cent.

 

On August 10, Trump wanted China to quickly quadruple” its orders of US soybeans. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “This is also a way of substantially reducing China’s Trade Deficit with the USA."