The US will roll its China tariff deadline forward by another 90 days, handing Beijing fresh breathing room despite White House vows that the current pause expiring in August would be the last.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng open talks in Stockholm today, where negotiators are expected to formalise the extension. The move preserves the lower reciprocal duties set in May and keeps the two economies from snapping back to levy levels that had climbed above 100%.
Prior to this, US-China already had a 90-day tariff cease-fire scheduled to lapse on August 12. Granting Beijing another 90 days would push the next deadline to November, just as the US heads into a midterm election year.
Washington’s retreat comes as it hails separate frameworks with the EU and Japan. Brussels accepted a 15% US duty while pledging US$600 billion in stateside investment and US$750 billion in energy purchases over three years, while Tokyo secured the same 15% rate in exchange for up to US$550 billion of US-bound capital and large-ticket aerospace and defence orders.
Analysts say the China reprieve spares global supply chains another jolt but leaves core disputes—technology transfers, industrial subsidies, export controls—unresolved. With baseline “reciprocal” rates of 15–20% still slated for the autumn, the extension delays rather than defuses the stand-off.
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