WASHINGTON: A deadline for tariffs between the United States and China to snap back to higher levels could be extended in a “90-day increment”, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday (Jul 23), ahead of trade talks next week.
Top officials from the world’s two biggest economies are set to meet in Sweden on Monday and Tuesday, with Bessent in the US delegation and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attending the talks.
“We’re in a very good place with China now,” Bessent told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. He added that the upcoming talks would likely move beyond rare earths and export controls, and “on to bigger discussions”.
Asked about the Aug 12 deadline, when reduced tit-for-tat tariffs are due to bounce back to steeper levels, Bessent signaled openness to a significant extension.
“I think that we could roll it forward, maybe in a 90-day increment,” he said in the interview.
“Both sides have de-escalated, and I think we can get into a very good cadence of regular meetings with them,” he said.
Washington and Beijing had slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s exports in April, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels, but both sides reached an agreement to temporarily lower them after negotiations in Geneva.
The truce, however, is set to expire in August.
Officials from the two countries also met in London in June.
