Advertisement

Trump delays China tariff hike as talks progress

By Darryl Coote
President Donald Trump said he would delay a scheduled tariff increase on imported Chinese goods due to progress made in negotiations. Photo by Lan Hongguang/EPA-EFE/XINHUA
President Donald Trump said he would delay a scheduled tariff increase on imported Chinese goods due to progress made in negotiations. Photo by Lan Hongguang/EPA-EFE/XINHUA

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will be delaying a scheduled increase in tariffs on Chinese imports due to "substantial progress" made in trade negotiations between the two countries.

Writing on Twitter Sunday, Trump said that if negotiations continue to progress, he would plan to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to conclude the agreement.

Advertisement

"As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1," he said on Twitter. "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!"

In the series of two tweets, Trump specified that progress had been made concerning "important structural issues" including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services and currency.

The Chinese delegation also agreed that substantial progress had been made, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The delay to more than double tariffs on $200-billion worth of imported Chinese goods was to take effect March 1.

Advertisement

Trump's announcement follows Sunday's conclusion of the latest round of U.S.-China trade negotiations in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg reported.

The negotiations were scheduled to end Friday, but China's Vice Premier Liu He extended them through the weekend.

The announcement also comes as Trump plans to hold a second summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

On Friday, Trump applauded President Xi on Twitter for having been "very helpful" in his support of the summit.

That same day, the president told reporters in the Oval Office that he was optimistic over negotiations with China and he would consider extending the March 1 deadline, CNN reported.

A formal order to delay the tariff increase is expected to be issued this week by the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

Latest Headlines