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, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg, the president said Tuesday 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 -- though he
added he was not "inclined" to do so. The people said that Trump is
weighing whether to add 60 days to the current deadline to give negotiations
more time to continue.
"I think it's going along very well," Trump told
reporters in the Oval Office this week. "They're showing us tremendous
respect."
A spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer declined to comment.
Chinese officials had initially proposed an extension of 90
days, but that was knocked back by the U.S. side, people familiar with that
request said.
Asian stocks steadied and U.S. stock futures climbed.
Treasuries slipped and the yen dipped.
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 this week said the
U.S. president still wants to meet his Chinese counterpart soon in a bid to end
the trade war, Bloomberg reported.
Negotiations this week are focused on how to enforce the
trade deal and putting on paper a framework agreement to present to the two
presidents.
In the talks, the U.S. is pushing for wide-ranging changes
in the way China manages foreign trade and its own economy. Specifically,
Lighthizer has zeroed in on China's alleged abuses of intellectual property and
state sponsorship of companies.