US willing to suspend trade war tariff increase after Trump-Xi meeting at G20 in Japan, report says
- Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Osaka on Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting
- US has already increased tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 per cent to 25 per cent
The United States is willing to suspend the next round of tariffs on an additional US$300 billion of Chinese imports while Beijing and Washington prepare to resume trade negotiations, people familiar with the plans said.
People familiar with the American readout of the conversation characterised the call as productive. They said both sides discussed how they can present the resumption of trade talks to their domestic audiences as a win.
The US will not accept any further conditions on tariffs as part of reopening negotiations and no detailed trade deal is expected from the leaders’ summit, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. The Trump administration has said the goal of the meeting is to create a path forward for a trade agreement, after negotiations broke down last month.
Although each side still wants to secure significant concessions from the other, both agreed to dial down the tit-for-tat responses and aim for a truce that could soothe financial markets while their sides resume negotiations, people familiar with the situation said. It is not clear if they would set a definite timetable for the tariff ceasefire.