Trump extends tariff moratorium on China till November as negotiations continue

New York, Aug 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has extended the tariff moratorium for China that was to expire on Tuesday to November 10 as the two countries continue to negotiate.

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday, hours before it was to expire, “I have just signed an Executive Order that will extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days”.

The US will continue to maintain the tariff rate of 30 per cent, and China will keep it at 10 per cent during this period.

Earlier, Trump told reporters, “We've been dealing very nicely with China”. “The relationship is very good with President Xi (Jinping) and myself”, he added.

US and Chinese trade officials met in Sweden last month for a third round of direct talks, but didn’t hammer out a deal satisfactory for Trump.

While the trade war between the two countries was at its height in April, Trump imposed a 145 per cent tariff on China, and Beijing reciprocated with a 125 per cent tariff and a ban on the export of rare earths vital to US manufacturing in several areas.

But next month, they agreed to a 90-day truce and reduced their tariffs, while China resumed some rare earth exports.

Although Trump has threatened India with a 25 per cent tariff for buying Russian oil, so far, he has not made a similar threat against Beijing.

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that a similar penalty was “on the table,” but Trump had not made a decision.

Trump’s deadline for imposing tariffs on all Russian energy buyers if Moscow did not make peace with Ukraine also passed off with no action as he prepared for a summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss a solution to the Ukraine War.

Trump has been grappling with how to reduce the goods trade deficit with China, which was $295 billion last year, according to the US Trade Representative.

He suggested on Sunday that China increase its purchase of US soybeans fourfold.

While China has a grip on the US with its near-monopoly on some rare earths, the US has advanced semiconductors that Beijing craves.

Trump, who restricted the selling of advanced chips to China by companies like Nvidia, has offered to let them sell some versions of the semiconductors to Beijing under an unusual arrangement in which they would pay the US government 15 per cent of their profits from the sales.

--IANS

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