White House delays a scheduled jump in duties that could have risen to as high as 145% on Chinese imports; move buys negotiators time and spares retailers ahead of the holiday season.

WASHINGTON / BEIJING – President Donald Trump on Monday 11, night signed an executive order extending the tariff truce with China for another 90 days, hours before a deadline that would have triggered a steep escalation in duties. The White House said the extension postpones potential tariff increases until November 10, keeping in place the current, lower rates while negotiators pursue a broader deal. Beijing announced a parallel measure, matching the pause and framing it as a ‘window for serious talks’.

The decision averts a fresh shock to global commerce. Without it, U.S. levies on a broad array of Chinese goods were set to snap back to punitive levels — up to 145% — with Chinese counter‑tariffs rising to as high as 125%. Analysts warned that such rates would have approached a de facto embargo across several categories, from consumer electronics to machinery.

For now, the truce preserves interim tariff settings that traders have lived with through the summer: roughly 30% on many Chinese imports entering the United States and near 10% on U.S. goods landing in China. Officials emphasized that the pause does not roll back existing duties but prevents a spike that rattled markets in April when Washington briefly pushed rates to triple‑digit territory.

The timing is as much political as it is economic. Treasury officials argued that letting tariffs jump weeks before the holiday shipping rush would have compounded supply‑chain stress and pushed up prices just as inflation readings hover near 3%. Retailers lobbied for the stay, saying purchase orders already in transit were priced on the assumption that interim rates would remain in place through the autumn.

Financial markets reacted with cautious relief. Futures were broadly steady in early trading, and shares of import‑heavy retailers and logistics companies ticked higher. Currency markets, which had braced for new volatility in the yuan and emerging‑market FX, steadied as traders judged the extension more likely to lengthen than to deepen the standoff.

The 90‑day reprieve is the second extension of a fragile ceasefire struck in late spring after a bruising escalation. In April, the administration unveiled a layered tariff regime that, when stacked, brought effective duties on most Chinese imports to 145%. Beijing retaliated, raising its own rates on U.S. goods. The resulting whiplash sowed confusion among shippers and fueled a sell‑off before both sides agreed to step back and explore a structured pause.

Behind the scenes, mid‑level negotiations have hopscotched between Geneva and Stockholm, with working groups on industrial subsidies, digital trade and data localization, and agricultural purchases. U.S. officials have floated targeted concessions — including managed purchases of soybeans and LNG — while pressing China to curb what Washington calls ‘coercive trade practices’ and tighten controls on sensitive technology flows to Russia.

Politically, the extension buys breathing room. The White House can argue it is protecting U.S. leverage without immediately imposing new pain on consumers. Beijing, facing a still‑fragile domestic recovery, avoids another drag on exports and a potential slide in factory employment. Both capitals also gain time to prepare for a possible Trump–Xi meeting in the autumn.

None of this means the trade war is over. Technology restrictions, investment screening and export‑control rules remain in force, and both sides continue to scrutinize chip flows and cloud‑computing services. The truce addresses tariffs; it does not resolve the deeper policy split over industrial strategy and national security that has widened since 2018.

For businesses, the extended pause is a planning gift — with caveats. Procurement teams can lock in shipping schedules and hedge FX exposure with more confidence through early November. Yet lawyers caution that contracts should include tariff pass‑through clauses and force‑majeure language, given how quickly policy can swing. Larger importers are engaging in ‘front‑loading’, accelerating deliveries to U.S. ports in case December brings renewed escalation.

In the near term, the impact will register along the Pacific container corridor. Carriers had prepared to reroute capacity and reprice contracts for a tariff snapback; instead they will maintain peak‑season sailings into Los Angeles/Long Beach, Seattle‑Tacoma and East Coast gateways via the Panama Canal. Warehouse operators in the Inland Empire say they are extending seasonal shifts amid brisk bookings for apparel, toys and small appliances.

The extension also narrows a split within Washington. Trade hawks argue that the April surge in tariffs forced Beijing back to the table and should be reinstated if talks stall. Business groups counter that triple‑digit rates tax U.S. consumers and depress investment without delivering structural change. The current compromise — sustained pressure without a shock — is an uneasy truce between those views.

Economists will watch three signposts over the next three months: inflation, inventory, and investment. If consumer prices rise slower than feared and shelves stay stocked, the administration can claim the pause helped stabilize the outlook. If companies use the window to re‑route sourcing or onshore production, the long‑term mix of imports could shift even if tariffs normalize at lower levels.

China, for its part, is calibrating incentives to offset tariff uncertainty. Provincial authorities have rolled out tax breaks for exporters and urged banks to extend short‑term credit to trading firms. The central government has vowed to retaliate if the U.S. reimposes the 145% rate, but officials are signaling that a negotiated framework — one that locks in market access in some sectors and respects ‘red lines’ in others — remains the preferred outcome.

The corporate implications vary sector by sector. Electronics importers were among the loudest proponents of a pause, warning that smartphone and laptop prices could jump if tariffs spiked. Apparel, footwear and furniture companies, many of which have already moved assembly to Southeast Asia or Mexico, still depend on Chinese inputs and tooling that cannot be swapped overnight. Industrial buyers of machine parts and chemicals say the truce helps them avoid costly production stoppages.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both parties said they would scrutinize any deal that appears to trade away national‑security controls for lower consumer prices. Senate committee chairs have pressed the administration to maintain export restrictions on advanced chips and manufacturing equipment even if headline tariffs drift lower. The White House insists the tools are complementary: tariffs to shape trade flows; export controls to protect technology.

Whether November brings another extension or a more durable framework will hinge on the politics of pain. The U.S. has leverage because of its consumer market; China has leverage because of its manufacturing depth and its role in global supply chains. Both sides face domestic constraints — elections and inflation in the U.S., growth and employment in China — that make a grand bargain difficult. For now, relief at the docks and in boardrooms will suffice.

Key dates now circled on calendars: mid‑September, when negotiators aim to present a draft ‘confidence‑building’ package; mid‑October, when a Trump–Xi encounter is possible on the margins of a regional summit; and November 10, when the current pause expires. Each milestone carries its own market risks, and each could reset expectations for the world’s most consequential trade relationship.

For readers trying to translate the policy into a shopping‑cart reality, here is the short version: If you are a retailer, the container you need for the holidays should not be priced at 145% duties. If you are a household, the truce will not roll back tariffs already embedded in prices, but it reduces the chance of a sudden spike this fall. If you are an investor, the next headline will be the CPI print — and whether today’s calm can survive it.

Sources:

• Reuters — US, China extend tariff truce by 90 days (Aug. 12, 2025).

• Politico — Trump extends US–China trade truce for another 90 days (Aug. 11–12, 2025).

• AP News — US and China extend trade truce another 90 days (Aug. 12, 2025).

• Investopedia — 5 Things to Know Before the Market Opens; US–China truce extended (Aug. 12, 2025).

• China Briefing — Trump raises tariffs on China to 145% (April 11, 2025) and current tariff trackers.

• Euronews — White House clarifies tariff rate on most Chinese imports is 145% (April 11, 2025).