Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday, according to sources close to the matter on both sides.
China and the United States agreed in May to remove most of the heavy tariffs levied on each other’s goods for 90 days while continuing trade negotiations. That suspension is set to expire on August 12.
During the third round of trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies, both will expound their views on major sticking points – such as the US’ concerns over China’s industrial overcapacity – rather than achieve specific breakthroughs, the sources said.
One source said that, during the expected 90-day extension, the two nations will commit to not impose additional tariffs on each other, nor escalate the trade war by other means.
According to three people familiar with Beijing’s position, while the earlier discussions in Geneva and London focused on “de-escalation”, in the latest meeting the Chinese delegation will also press Trump’s trade team on fentanyl-related tariffs.
US President Donald Trump imposed a 20 per cent additional levy on Chinese imports in March, claiming that Beijing had not done enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. Washington has offered no indication of what it considers sufficient progress on fentanyl to justify easing the tariffs. The Chinese side could seek greater clarity on that threshold during the Stockholm round.
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