US and China poised to extend tariff truce
The United States and China are moving closer to extending their 90-day tariff truce, following two days of high-level trade negotiations in Stockholm that officials from both sides described as “constructive and forward-looking.”
The talks aimed to ease tensions in the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies, which has rattled global markets and threatened economic growth worldwide.
While no sweeping deal was announced, both delegations expressed optimism about maintaining the fragile ceasefire on tariffs. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said discussions had been “very constructive” but clarified that the final decision to extend the truce, set to expire on August 12, rests with President Donald Trump. “We are in a good place, but the signoff has not yet been given,” Bessent told reporters.
President Trump, returning from Scotland where he had just signed a trade agreement with the European Union, confirmed he had been briefed on the talks. “He felt very good about the meeting, better than he felt yesterday,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, indicating progress toward avoiding a resurgence of punitive tariffs.
The US administration has already secured trade deals with key partners, including the EU, Japan, and Indonesia. However, negotiations with China are more complex due to Beijing’s dominant role in global manufacturing, its grip on rare earth mineral exports, and its position as a strategic rival in technology and finance.
Earlier this year, both countries narrowly avoided imposing tariffs that could have exceeded triple-digit rates, a move analysts warned would have amounted to an outright trade embargo. Without an extension of the current truce, global supply chains could once again face severe disruptions, further unsettling financial markets already sensitive to inflationary pressures and slowing growth.
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