Donald Trump to delay extra tariffs on Chinese imports
- US president cites ‘substantial progress’ in announcement that he will delay tariff hike
- Trump suggests further US-China negotiations will precede a face-to-face meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping
US President Donald Trump said he will delay the application of additional tariffs on Chinese imports, citing “substantial progress” in talks in Washington with a team led by China’s Vice-Premier Liu He.
“I am pleased to report that the US has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues,” Trump said in a tweet.
A hike in tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports, originally expected to take effect at 12:01am on March 2, would be delayed, said Trump, who suggested that more negotiations would precede a face-to-face between the two leaders.
“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”, he continued. “A very good weekend for US & China!”
Markets in Asia rose on Monday morning following the postponement of the hike in tariffs. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index opened up 0.7 per cent on Monday, while the Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened 0.5 per cent higher. The offshore yuan gained as much as 150 pips to 6.6876 against the US dollar in the early morning session.