Trump Considers 60-Day Extension for China Tariff Deadline

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Feb. 14 (SEE) - Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump is considering pushing back the deadline for imposition of higher tariffs on Chinese imports by 60 days, as the world’s two biggest economies try to negotiate a solution to their trade dispute.

Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources saying: “Trump is weighing whether to add 60 days to the current deadline (March 1) to give negotiations more time to continue, responding to a request by Chinese officials to extend by 90 days.”

The president said today  that he was open to letting the March 1 deadline for more than doubling tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods slide, if the two countries are close to a deal that addresses deep structural changes to China’s economic policies.

Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are in Beijing for the latest round of high-level talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday and Friday. A meeting between Lighthizer and Chinese President Xi Jinping is being tentatively scheduled for this week.

Trump’s willingness to extend the deadline may depend on the outcome of that meeting, one of the people said.

Trump has indicated he will need to meet Xi to agree on a final deal. While no date has been set, a White House aide recently said that the U.S. president still wants to meet his Chinese counterpart soon in a bid to end the trade war.