On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump sidestepped a question about extending the August 12 deadline for higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, responding, “we’ll see what happens,” while praising China’s cooperation in ongoing trade talks with Washington.
Trump on Wednesday said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil, depending on what happens.
“We’ve been dealing very nicely with China. As you have probably heard, they have tremendous tariffs that they’re paying to the United States of America,” Trump said at a news conference at the White House.
“Could happen,” Trump told reporters, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned China that it could also face new tariffs if it continued buying Russian oil.
Tariff Truce To Expire
“They’ve been dealing quite nicely,” Trump said, adding that he had a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted the deadline may be extended. If it is not, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will shoot up to 145%, with Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods set to hit 125%.
The two sides in May announced a truce in their trade dispute after talks in Geneva, Switzerland, agreeing to a 90-day period to allow further talks. They met again in Stockholm, Sweden in late July, but did not announce an agreement to further extend the deadline.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Washington has the makings of a deal with China and he was “optimistic” about the path forward.
But Trump pushed for additional concessions on Sunday, urging China to quadruple its soybean purchases, although analysts questioned the feasibility of any such deal.
Trump did not repeat the demand on Monday.
(With inputs from Reuters)
