U.S., China hold new meetings on tariffs
Analysts say another 90-day truce extension is probable
By: Greae Rosen Fondahn
David Lawder
Philip Blenkinsop
and Sudip Kar-gupta
Reuters
STOCKHOLM - top U.S. and Chinese economic officials resumed talks in Stockholm on July 28 [2025] to resolve longstanding economic disputes at the center of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months.
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Treasury Chief Scott Bessent was part of a negotiating teem that arrived at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm. China's Premier He Lifeng was also seen at the venue on video footage.
..... China is facing an August 12 [2025] deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the Trump administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June [2025] to end weeks of escaluating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
..... President Donald Trump touched on the talks during a wide-raging press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmere in Scotland.
..... "I'd love to see China open up their country. So we're dealing with China right mow as we speak," Trump said.
..... without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil form U.S> duties snapping back to triple-digit would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
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trade representative Jamieson Greer said he did not expect "some kind of enormous breakthrough today" [07/28/2025] at the talks in Stockholm he was attending.
..... "What I expect is continue motoring and checking in on the implementation of our agreement thus far, making suer that key critical minerals are flowing between the parties and setting the groundwork for enhance trade and balance trade going forward," he told CNBC.
..... The Stockholm talks follow Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on July 27 [2025] for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the United States.
..... trade analysts said another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-may between China and the United States was likely.
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An extension would facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. [2025] The financial Times reported on July 28 [2025] that the United States has paused curbs on tech exports to china to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Xi this year. [2025]
..... In Washington, D.C., senators from both major parties plan to introduce bills this week [07/31/2025] targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents, and Taiwan, emphasizing security and human rights, which could complicate talks in Stockholm.
..... Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June [2025] focused on bringing United States and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's H20 AI chips, and other goods halted by the United States.
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The talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaint that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods see to stunt Chinese growth.
Europe reacts with relief, concern
..... European governments and companies reacted with both relief and concern on July 29 [2025] to the framework trade deal struck with Trump, acknowledging what was seen as an unbalanced deal but one that avoided a deeper trade war.
..... The agreement, announced on July 27 [2025] between two economies that account for almost a third of global trade, will see the United States impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods - half the threated rate but much more than what Europeans hoped for.
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Many of the specifics of the deal were not immediately known, however.
..... "As we await full details of the new EU-U.S. trade agreement, one things is clear: this is a moment of relief but not of celebration," Belgian Prime Minster Bart De Wever wrote on X. "Tariffs will increase in several areas and some key questions reaction unresolved."
..... Trump said the deal, including an investment pledge topping the $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, [07/23/2025] would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of U.S. exporters. It will bring clarity for European makers of cars, planes and chemicals. But the EU had initially hoped for a zero-for-zero tariff deal. And the 15% baseline tariff, while an improvement on the threatened rate of 30%, compares to an average U.S. import tariff rate of around 2.5% last year [2024] before Trump's return to the White House.
..... European Commission chief Von der Leven, describing trump as a tough negotiator, told reporters on July 27 [2025] that it was "the best we could get."
..... German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. French government ministers said the deal had some merits - such as exemptions they hoped to see for some key French business sectors such as spirits - but was nevertheless not balanced.
..... Industry minister Marc Ferracci stressed more talks would be needed before the deal could be formally concluded. "This is not the end of the story," he told RTL radio. European companies, meanwhile, were left wondering whether to cheer or lament the accord.
..... among the many questions that remain to be answered is how the EU's promise to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States and steeply increase energy purchases can be turned into reality. It was not immediately clear f specific pledges of increased investments were made or whether the details still must be hammered out. And while the UE pledged to make $750 billion in strategic purchases over the next three years, including oil,liquefied natural gas and nuclear fuel. the United States will struggle to produce enough to meet that demand.