In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, President Trump announced he would delay the plan to raise tariffs on Chinese goods.
“I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues. As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for U.S. & China!”
This comes after the latest round of meetings with Chinese officials in Washington for bilateral trade talks. The meetings were originally scheduled to wrap up on Friday, which was extended into the weekend with talks going well.
Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, the nationwide campaign against tariffs supported by American manufacturers, retailers, technology and agriculture organizations, was pleased after Sunday’s announcement that the March 1 tariff increase deadline would be extended. “We are encouraged by this latest sign of progress and that the administration seems to have heard the concerns of U.S. businesses and farmers who simply cannot afford more tariffs. However, existing tariffs and shifting deadlines are still making it harder for Americans to plan for the future, invest and grow.”
“As we have said repeatedly, we agree with the need to address China’s unfair trading practices. But tariffs are ultimately taxes paid by American businesses, and that’s why using them as leverage will always be a losing proposition. We need a solution as soon as possible that ends the tariff uncertainty once and for all and improves the U.S.-China trading relationship.”
Earlier this month at a press conference on Capitol Hill with bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate, Tariffs Hurt the Heartland released a report prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC that found that American workers would lose nearly one million U.S. jobs if tariffs increased on March 1.
