Link Securities | Trade negotiations between the US and China concluded on Tuesday, with negotiators suggesting that the meeting was productive but without making any major announcements. No explicit decision was taken, nor was a 90-day extension of the deadline for imposing tariffs agreed, which in China’s case is 12 August. In this regard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that it is an option but that President Trump will make the final decision, and that he will hold a brief meeting with him today. Bessent added that more meetings between the two sides are expected in the coming months and that the flow of rare earth metals has improved. The meeting appears to have fulfilled the limited objectives of continuing to hold meetings in the future. At the same time, US President Donald Trump indicated that a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could take place at the end of the year.
Trump also stressed that a trade agreement with India had not yet been finalised and that the Asian country could face tariffs of between 20-25%, despite India being one of the first countries to enter into negotiations with the US. Bessent told CNBC that 1 August will not be the end of the world for trade negotiations if the partners continue to negotiate in good faith, although he added that President Trump would be just as happy to receive the tariff revenue.
