Bloomberg: US Treasury secretary signals flexibility on China tariff deadline

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that the deadline for the current tariff truce with China, set to expire next month, may not be strictly enforced.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television on July 15, Bessent described ongoing talks between Washington and Beijing as being in a "very good place" and suggested that negotiations could continue beyond the scheduled end of the 90-day reprieve on August 12, Caliber.Az reports.

“I tell market participants not to worry about Aug. 12,” Bessent said, referring to the truce that was originally announced on May 12.

Bessent, who has been playing a key role in the Trump administration’s trade discussions with China, also said he is aiming to meet soon with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, possibly in a third country. The timing of the meeting remains uncertain due to upcoming events in Beijing.

“We’re still working on it,” he said. “The Chinese leadership has a big conclave at the beginning of August. We’re trying to work out whether that could be in a third country either before or after that conclave.”

Talks between the two sides have made notable progress in recent months. In May, negotiators met in Geneva and agreed to reduce overall tariff rates. Further discussions took place in London in June, resulting in a preliminary agreement to ease export controls on semiconductors and rare earth elements.

As part of the recent efforts to ease tensions, the U.S. has also moved to approve chip sales to China. In a company blog post, Nvidia Corp. confirmed that it had been assured by the U.S. government that licenses would be granted for the sale of its H20 graphics processing units to Chinese firms.

In the Bloomberg interview, Bessent confirmed that development, noting it was a calculated move in the ongoing trade negotiations.

“You might say that that was a negotiating chip that we used in Geneva and in London,” he said. “It was all part of a mosaic. They had things we wanted. We had things they wanted, and we’re in a very good place.”

By Sabina Mammadli