US and China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce

Senior US and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries’ trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.

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China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs.

Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%.

The Stockholm talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Trump at his golf course in Scotland to try to clinch a deal that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods.

Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later this year.

Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia H2O Al chips and other goods halted by the United States.