Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to resume talks in Stockholm on Monday to address longstanding economic disputes at the center of a trade war between the world’s top two economies. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump’s biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the U.S. The bloc will also buy $750 billion worth of American energy and make $600 billion worth of U.S. investments in coming years. No similar breakthrough is expected in the U.S.-China talks, but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely.
Trump’s administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes, and other products. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries and will require more time. China’s grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries.
