Trump Postponing Tariffs on China as a Good Will Gesture

Voice of America
12 Sep 2019, 11:35 GMT+10

President Donald Trump is postponing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods as a "gesture of good will."

Trump made the announcement in a late Wednesday tweet, saying Chinese Vice Premier Liu He asked for the delay in time for the People's Republic of China's 70th anniversary Oct. 1.

The increase in tariffs from 25% to 30% was supposed to take effect on that date. They are now set for Oct. 15. There has been no response so far from Beijing.

Trump's announcement came after China said earlier Wednesday it is exempting a handful of U.S. products from the next round of sanctions set to begin Sept. 17. They include shrimp, a cancer-fighting machine, industrial grease and assorted chemicals.

Midlevel negotiators plan to meet later this month to prepare for the first high-level trade talks between the United States and China since July.

The talks are set to open next month in Washington.

Both sides are hoping to make a trade deal that can finally end the trade war between the United States and China.

The series of tariffs on a large number of products the U.S. and China buy from each other has rattled investors and made consumers uneasy with the outlook of higher prices.

Trump has long accused China of intellectual property theft and manipulating its currency to make its goods cheaper than American products on the world market.

China says U.S. trade policies are aimed at trying to stifle its ability to compete.

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