President Trump on Monday signed an executive order delaying a set of sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods for at least 90 days, extending a ceasefire in the U.S.-China trade war, the White House announced.
The president’s order will keep tariffs at 30% — the level that was set in mid-May, when both countries agreed to temporarily back off a set of tit-for-tat tariffs that exceeded 100%. That agreement was set to expire Tuesday, and without an extension, levies on some Chinese goods could have leaped to at least 80%, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said.
The order says the U.S.’s “reciprocal” tariff on Chinese goods will remain at 10% until at least Nov. 10. An additional 20% tariff on China that was imposed earlier this year due to fentanyl trafficking is also still in place, bringing the total rate to 30%.
“The United States and China have engaged in multiple rounds of productive negotiations to address trade reciprocity and national security concerns,” the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the extension.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last week that China and the U.S. were “likely” to agree to a 90-day extension as the two countries seek to negotiate a longer-term trade deal. Mr. Trump told reporters earlier Monday those negotiations were going “quite nicely.” Representatives from both sides met in Stockholm late last month.
Greer told CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” earlier this month that “I don’t think anyone wants to see” high tariffs on China snap back.
“We’re working on some technical issues, and we’re talking to the president about it,” Greer said. “I think it’s going in a positive direction.”
A return to high tariffs could have caused U.S. imports of Chinese goods to plummet, disrupting trade between the world’s two largest economies. In mid-April, when tariffs on Chinese imports still stood at 145%, the Trump administration planned for possible supply chain disruptions.
China was the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner last year, not counting the European Union. The U.S. imported $438.9 billion in Chinese goods and China imported $143.5 billion in American goods, according to U.S. government data.
Mr. Trump first hit China with 34% tariffs in early April, one of dozens of countries to face hefty “reciprocal” levies. The president argues tariffs could boost U.S. manufacturers and correct what he views as unfair trade practices, but many economists warn Mr. Trump’s trade strategy could lead to higher consumer prices and more sluggish economic growth.
The president quickly paused his April tariffs for most countries, and reinstated them, often at substantially lower levels, last week. But the China levies remained in place for more than a month and drew retaliation from Beijing, ultimately pushing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% and Chinese tariffs on American goods to 125%.
The two countries agreed to ease the tariffs for at least 90 days in May, buying more time for Mr. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s teams to negotiate a trade deal. Since then, the U.S. has charged 30% tariffs and China has charged 10%.
The talks have occasionally proven contentious. Earlier this year, the two countries feuded over Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, Washington’s restrictions on advanced semiconductors and the Trump administration’s crackdown on international students from China. Mr. Trump accused China of violating the terms of the May truce — though both countries reached a deal to ease some of those tensions in June. And on Sunday, Mr. Trump pushed China to quadruple its imports of U.S. soybeans.
