US, China to launch new talks on tariff truce extension
China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods exports to the US, including autos. The bloc will also buy $US750 billion worth of American energy and make $US600 billion worth of US investments in coming years.
No similar breakthrough is expected in the US-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely.
An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November.
A US Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days.
Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products.
"We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal.
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's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States.
So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth.
"Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I'd be surprised if there is an early harvest on some of these things but an extension of the ceasefire for another 90 days seems to be the most likely outcome."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead the delegations in Stockholm. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption - a decades-long goal for US policymakers.
In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.
Trump has said he will decide soon on a landmark trip to China, and a new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail planning.
Top US and Chinese economic officials will resume talks in Stockholm to try to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months and keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.
China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods exports to the US, including autos. The bloc will also buy $US750 billion worth of American energy and make $US600 billion worth of US investments in coming years.
No similar breakthrough is expected in the US-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely.
An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November.
A US Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days.
Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products.
"We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal.
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's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States.
So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth.
"Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I'd be surprised if there is an early harvest on some of these things but an extension of the ceasefire for another 90 days seems to be the most likely outcome."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead the delegations in Stockholm. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption - a decades-long goal for US policymakers.
In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.
Trump has said he will decide soon on a landmark trip to China, and a new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail planning.
Top US and Chinese economic officials will resume talks in Stockholm to try to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months and keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.
China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods exports to the US, including autos. The bloc will also buy $US750 billion worth of American energy and make $US600 billion worth of US investments in coming years.
No similar breakthrough is expected in the US-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely.
An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November.
A US Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days.
Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products.
"We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal.
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's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States.
So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth.
"Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I'd be surprised if there is an early harvest on some of these things but an extension of the ceasefire for another 90 days seems to be the most likely outcome."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead the delegations in Stockholm. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption - a decades-long goal for US policymakers.
In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.
Trump has said he will decide soon on a landmark trip to China, and a new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail planning.
Top US and Chinese economic officials will resume talks in Stockholm to try to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months and keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.
China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods exports to the US, including autos. The bloc will also buy $US750 billion worth of American energy and make $US600 billion worth of US investments in coming years.
No similar breakthrough is expected in the US-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely.
An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November.
A US Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days.
Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products.
"We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal.
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's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States.
So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth.
"Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I'd be surprised if there is an early harvest on some of these things but an extension of the ceasefire for another 90 days seems to be the most likely outcome."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead the delegations in Stockholm. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption - a decades-long goal for US policymakers.
In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.
Trump has said he will decide soon on a landmark trip to China, and a new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail planning.
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Sydney Morning Herald
8 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How a $155 billion ‘eco-paradise' fell short of its promise
At 9am, the beachfront was empty, except for a Malaysian couple and their grandson playing near a white concrete staircase jutting out over the sand. Dubbed the 'stairway to heaven', it's intended to be an Instagrammable spot, but it's difficult to pass over its metaphor as a boondoggle leading nowhere. While waiting to check in, I wandered the grounds for five hours, encountering maybe 20 visitors or residents. This paucity contrasted with the number of groundskeepers, maintenance workers and security staff roaming the facility, ensuring every fallen leaf was swept, hedge trimmed and pool sparkling to maintain the vision of a safe and immaculate paradise. At the centre of the estate, an entire building has been dedicated to selling this dream. A large-scale model of the project spans the length of a salesroom floor, capturing the grandeur of the four-island plan spanning 14 square kilometres that seems destined to remain a fantasy. A promotional video playing in the background claims the city is home to 15,000 residents and 'gradually growing'. By midmorning, a few Chinese buyers were flipping through brochures, outnumbered by staff ready to lock in a sale. From the outset, Country Garden gambled the success of its venture on the burgeoning Chinese middle class' seemingly insatiable appetite for real estate. It pitched Forest City as a way for Chinese investors to diversify their assets offshore, while dangling visa incentives and the prospect of residency in Malaysia. It has proved a bad bet. In 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping began cracking down on the credit binge that the country's heavily leveraged developers had gorged on, setting in train a property-bubble bust that has wiped out wealth and confidence. Across China, cities are now littered with the abandoned ambitions of its developers, many of them falling into ruin. Country Garden has more than 3000 unfinished projects and nearly 1 million outstanding homes to complete, according to Japanese investment bank Nomura. It did not respond to a request for comment. Forest City has also suffered from lingering resentment in Malaysia at the idea of a massive project being built for Chinese buyers. This was fuelled by then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who in 2018 said foreigners would not be granted visas to live there, further dampening demand. Visa controls have since been eased under current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Even with price decreases – a one-bedroom apartment starts at 500,000 Malaysian ringgit ($182,190) – Forest City is unaffordable for many locals and remains pitched at overseas buyers. Forest City may not be the total ghost town it's pegged as by the press, but it's far from the portrait of a vibrant, thriving community. At midday, many of the shops in the mall next to the hotel were still shuttered, some seemingly permanently. Those that were open had no customers, and bored shop assistants sat glued to their phones at vacant counters. At one coffee shop, the server was slumped across a table, asleep. A prime selling point for Forest City is its duty-free status. But a licensing issue meant none of the four duty-free shops in the mall were selling alcohol − one of the main drawcards for visitors, especially those from Singapore, where extortionate taxes make a tipple all but a luxury. One store was reduced to selling only chocolates, though upon entry its shelves were bare save for several boxes of wafer biscuits − a sales challenge that apparently required two shop assistants. One of them, a woman in her 40s, said she had lived in Forest City with her children for four years in an apartment tower behind the mall, having relocated from Kuala Lumpur. 'There are many people who live in my tower,' she says, explaining that most of them were Malaysian renters who commuted into Singapore daily for work. 'I like it here. It's very quiet.' By sundown, foot traffic has picked up. A modest number of people have filtered onto the beach and a volleyball game is under way. The hotel seems reasonably buzzy, due partly to the fact that a tech school, led by US cryptocurrency investor Balaji Srinivasan, has set up shop in the lobby. There are signs of life in towers, too, as lights begin flickering on in some of the apartments, though many remain dark. Country Garden isn't the only stakeholder banking on Forest City's future. Malaysian company Esplanade Danga 88, backed by the state's Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, has a 40 per cent stake. Recently, the Malaysian government has ramped up its incentives to lure wealthy investors to the project, including offering a 0 per cent tax rate for those who set up family offices in Forest City. For now, it's quite something to climb the 'staircase to heaven' and peer back at the shore and marvel at the sheer scale of Forest City − its unbridled ambition, unfulfilled promise and uncertain future.
The Age
8 minutes ago
- The Age
How a $155 billion ‘eco-paradise' fell short of its promise
At 9am, the beachfront was empty, except for a Malaysian couple and their grandson playing near a white concrete staircase jutting out over the sand. Dubbed the 'stairway to heaven', it's intended to be an Instagrammable spot, but it's difficult to pass over its metaphor as a boondoggle leading nowhere. While waiting to check in, I wandered the grounds for five hours, encountering maybe 20 visitors or residents. This paucity contrasted with the number of groundskeepers, maintenance workers and security staff roaming the facility, ensuring every fallen leaf was swept, hedge trimmed and pool sparkling to maintain the vision of a safe and immaculate paradise. At the centre of the estate, an entire building has been dedicated to selling this dream. A large-scale model of the project spans the length of a salesroom floor, capturing the grandeur of the four-island plan spanning 14 square kilometres that seems destined to remain a fantasy. A promotional video playing in the background claims the city is home to 15,000 residents and 'gradually growing'. By midmorning, a few Chinese buyers were flipping through brochures, outnumbered by staff ready to lock in a sale. From the outset, Country Garden gambled the success of its venture on the burgeoning Chinese middle class' seemingly insatiable appetite for real estate. It pitched Forest City as a way for Chinese investors to diversify their assets offshore, while dangling visa incentives and the prospect of residency in Malaysia. It has proved a bad bet. In 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping began cracking down on the credit binge that the country's heavily leveraged developers had gorged on, setting in train a property-bubble bust that has wiped out wealth and confidence. Across China, cities are now littered with the abandoned ambitions of its developers, many of them falling into ruin. Country Garden has more than 3000 unfinished projects and nearly 1 million outstanding homes to complete, according to Japanese investment bank Nomura. It did not respond to a request for comment. Forest City has also suffered from lingering resentment in Malaysia at the idea of a massive project being built for Chinese buyers. This was fuelled by then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who in 2018 said foreigners would not be granted visas to live there, further dampening demand. Visa controls have since been eased under current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Even with price decreases – a one-bedroom apartment starts at 500,000 Malaysian ringgit ($182,190) – Forest City is unaffordable for many locals and remains pitched at overseas buyers. Forest City may not be the total ghost town it's pegged as by the press, but it's far from the portrait of a vibrant, thriving community. At midday, many of the shops in the mall next to the hotel were still shuttered, some seemingly permanently. Those that were open had no customers, and bored shop assistants sat glued to their phones at vacant counters. At one coffee shop, the server was slumped across a table, asleep. A prime selling point for Forest City is its duty-free status. But a licensing issue meant none of the four duty-free shops in the mall were selling alcohol − one of the main drawcards for visitors, especially those from Singapore, where extortionate taxes make a tipple all but a luxury. One store was reduced to selling only chocolates, though upon entry its shelves were bare save for several boxes of wafer biscuits − a sales challenge that apparently required two shop assistants. One of them, a woman in her 40s, said she had lived in Forest City with her children for four years in an apartment tower behind the mall, having relocated from Kuala Lumpur. 'There are many people who live in my tower,' she says, explaining that most of them were Malaysian renters who commuted into Singapore daily for work. 'I like it here. It's very quiet.' By sundown, foot traffic has picked up. A modest number of people have filtered onto the beach and a volleyball game is under way. The hotel seems reasonably buzzy, due partly to the fact that a tech school, led by US cryptocurrency investor Balaji Srinivasan, has set up shop in the lobby. There are signs of life in towers, too, as lights begin flickering on in some of the apartments, though many remain dark. Country Garden isn't the only stakeholder banking on Forest City's future. Malaysian company Esplanade Danga 88, backed by the state's Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, has a 40 per cent stake. Recently, the Malaysian government has ramped up its incentives to lure wealthy investors to the project, including offering a 0 per cent tax rate for those who set up family offices in Forest City. For now, it's quite something to climb the 'staircase to heaven' and peer back at the shore and marvel at the sheer scale of Forest City − its unbridled ambition, unfulfilled promise and uncertain future.
Perth Now
8 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Asia shares fall as US unleashes fresh tariffs
Asian shares fell on Friday after the US slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, while investors anxiously await US jobs data that could make or break the case for a Fed rate cut next month. Late on Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to 41 per cent on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations. Rates were set at 25 per cent for India's US-bound exports, 20 per cent for Taiwan's, 19 per cent for Thailand's and 15 per cent for South Korea's. He also increased duties on Canadian goods to 35 per cent from 25 per cent for all products not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal. "At this point, the reaction in markets has been modest, and I think part of the reason for that is the recent trade deals with the EU, Japan, and South Korea have certainly helped to cushion the impact," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. "After being obviously caught on the wrong foot in April, the market now, I think, has probably taken the view that these trade tariff levels can be renegotiated, can be walked lower over the course of time." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 per cent, bringing the total loss this week to 1.5 per cent. South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 1.6 per cent while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.6 per cent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures dropped 0.5 per cent. Nasdaq futures fell 0.5 per cent while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.3 per cent after earnings from Amazon failed to live up to lofty expectations, sending its shares tumbling 6.6 per cent after hours. Apple, meanwhile, forecast revenue well above Wall Street's estimates, following strong June-quarter results supported by customers buying iPhones early to avoid tariffs. Its shares were up 2.4 per cent after hours. Overnight, Wall Street failed to hold onto an earlier rally. Data showed inflation picked up in June, with new tariffs pushing prices higher and stoking expectations that price pressures could intensify, while weekly initial jobless claims signalled the labour market remained on a stable footing. Fed funds futures imply just a 39 per cent chance of a rate cut in September, compared with 65 per cent before the Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday, according to the CME's FedWatch. Much now will depend on the US jobs data due later in the day and any upside surprise could lower the chance for a cut next month. Forecasts are centred on a rise of 110,000 in July, while the jobless rate likely ticked up to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. The greenback has found support from fading prospects of imminent US rate cuts, with the dollar index up 2.4 per cent this week against its peers to 100, the highest level in two months. That is its biggest weekly rise since late 2022. The Canadian dollar was little impacted by the tariff news, having already fallen about 1.0 per cent this week to a 10-week low. The yen was the biggest loser overnight, with the dollar up 0.8 per cent to 150.7 yen, the highest since late March. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday and revised up its near-term inflation expectation but Governor Kazuo Ueda sounded a little dovish. Treasuries were largely steady on Friday. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields ticked up one basis point to 4.374 per cent, after slipping two bps overnight. In commodity markets, oil prices were steady after falling 1.0 per cent overnight. US crude rose 0.1 per cent to $US69.36 ($A107.89) per barrel, while Brent was at $US71.84 ($A111.75) per barrel, up 0.2 per cent. Spot gold prices were steady at $US3,288 ($A5,115) an ounce.
