Trump’s US-China trade war suspended while talks continue
Delay in tariffs comes after a week of talks in Washington with Chinese officials; but the threat certainly good for volumes coming into Seattle. President Donald Trump, the self-descried “tariff man”, decided not to pull the trigger on additional tariffs on imports from China, citing the progress both sides have made in ongoing trade talks to end the nearly one-year trade war between the two largest world economies.
President Trump had set a March 1 deadline to boost tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported goods from 10 percent to 25 percent if China was not showing progress on trade talks. But in a Sunday announcement, the President said the current progress being made means those tariffs will be delayed. Trump will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to finalize a trade deal.
Trump confirms trade discussion are heading a positive direction
“As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for U.S. & China!.”
China’s Vice Premier Liu He was in Washington D.C. last week meeting with U.S. officials on trade, with a final meeting on Friday with Trump. At the time, Trump said the talks had been going well with the last details to be worked out with Xi Jinping.
“Ultimately, I think the biggest decisions and some even smaller decisions will be made by President Xi and myself,” the president said. “I think President Xi and I will work out the final points. Perhaps and perhaps not.”
©Tradewaves-MichaelAngell
