Donald Trump has extended a trade war truce with China for another 90 days, two US officials have said, just hours before his Tuesday deadline to steepen tariffs on the world’s biggest exporter.
The US president’s move was widely expected because his government has been reluctant to reignite the fierce trade conflict with Beijing that rattled markets in April when US levies on Chinese imports rose up to 145 per cent.
In May, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent negotiated a settlement with senior Chinese officials in Geneva, Switzerland, to bring down the tariffs and pause a deepening trade war. After another round of talks in Sweden last month, he said Trump would decide a further extension to the truce before the August 12 deadline.