The United States and China have agreed to extend their trade truce until 10 November, narrowly avoiding a planned tariff increase between the world’s two largest economies.
In a joint statement on Monday, both governments confirmed that the higher tariffs would be suspended for another 90 days.
Last month’s negotiations ended on a positive note, with both sides describing the talks as “constructive.” China’s top negotiator said at the time that Beijing and Washington were committed to maintaining the truce, while US officials noted they were awaiting final approval from President Donald Trump.
That approval came on Monday when Trump signed an executive order formalizing the extension.
Under the extended agreement, the United States will maintain a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, while China will keep its 10% duty on American goods.
At one stage, Washington had threatened tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese products, with Beijing responding with duties as high as 125% on US shipments. These rates were scaled back following trade talks in Geneva last May.
According to the White House, the latest 90-day truce will allow more time to address “trade imbalances” and “unfair trade practices.” Officials cited a $300 billion US trade deficit with China in 2024 — the largest with any single trading partner.
Negotiations will also focus on expanding access for US exporters to Chinese markets and tackling both national security and economic concerns.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington emphasized that “win-win cooperation between China and the United States is the right path; suppression and containment will lead nowhere.” In its statement, Beijing urged the US to lift “unreasonable” trade restrictions, work together to benefit companies in both nations, and safeguard the stability of global semiconductor supply chains.
Trade tensions between the United States and China escalated sharply in April after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imports from multiple countries, with China facing some of the steepest levies.
Beijing responded with retaliatory tariffs, triggering a tit-for-tat escalation that sent duties into triple digits and nearly froze trade between the two nations. In May, both sides agreed to roll back part of those measures.
That deal left Chinese goods entering the US subject to an additional 30% tariff compared with the start of the year, while American goods faced a new 10% tariff in China.
Talks are ongoing over several contentious issues, including US access to China’s rare earth minerals, Beijing’s purchases of Russian oil, and Washington’s restrictions on advanced technology sales — particularly semiconductors — to Chinese companies.
Trump has recently eased some of those export curbs, allowing firms such as AMD and Nvidia to resume sales of certain chips to Chinese customers, in return for sharing 15% of their revenues with the US government.
The Biden administration is also pressing for the divestment of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance, a move Beijing has strongly opposed.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday, Trump declined to confirm whether the trade truce would be extended, but said negotiations were progressing “nicely.” A day earlier, he urged China to ramp up purchases of US soybeans.
Despite the truce, bilateral trade has taken a hit this year. US government data shows imports of Chinese goods in June were nearly 50% lower than in June 2024. In the first half of 2025, the US imported $165 billion worth of Chinese goods — down about 15% from the same period last year — while American exports to China fell roughly 20% year-on-year.
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