Trump delays China tariff increase by 2 weeks as "gesture of good will"
President Donald Trump says the United States will delay by two weeks a planned increase in tariffs on some Chinese imports. In a Wednesday tweet, Mr. Trump said the delay is "a gesture of good will."
....on October 1st, we have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tariffs on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2019
The president said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He requested the delay "due to the fact that the People's Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary ... on October 1st." The delay could signal a de-escalation of tensions ahead of trade negotiations that are slated to resume in Washington next month, although expectations are tempered, analysts said.
"Despite this more positive tone, we continue to doubt that a truly comprehensive deal is in the offing in the near future, but do expect that the October meeting could result in additional tariff delays," Height Securities analysts wrote in a Thursday research note.
Mr. Trump has imposed or announced penalties on about $550 billion of Chinese products, or almost everything the United States buys from China. Tariffs of 25% that were imposed previously on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods were due to rise to 30% on Oct. 1.
Instead, Mr. Trump said, that will be delayed until Oct. 15.
The two sides have agreed to resume negotiations in Washington early next month. By delaying his tariff increase by two weeks, Trump has allowed for at least the theoretical possibility that the negotiators could make enough progress to avert his tariff increase indefinitely.
As the trade war continues, analysts have warned of the impact on the U.S. economy and workers, with Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi finding in a new report that the White House's imposition of tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese imports has resulted in 300,000 fewer jobs being created and reduced U.S. gross domestic product by an estimated 0.3%.