Trump Flexible on China Tariff Deadline

President Donald Trump said he’s open to extending a March 1 deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese products if the two sides are near an agreement, sending a conciliatory signal amid talks to resolve the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

“If we’re close to a deal where we think we can make a real deal and it’s going to get done, I could see myself letting that slide for a little while,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting Tuesday. “But generally speaking I’m not inclined” to delay raising tariffs, he added.

Negotiators from the two countries began their latest round of talks this week ahead of the March 1 deadline for additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump has threatened to more than double the rate of duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports.

Trump’s comments are the strongest indication that he’s willing to give the Chinese more time to firm up a deal to head off the bruising trade conflict, which has cast a cloud over the global economy. Extending the deadline could pave the way for a potential deal-clinching meeting with President Xi Jinping. But Trump’s remarks also underscore his desire to secure binding commitments from Beijing to deeper reforms to its state-driven economic model, rather than simply short-term promises to buy more American goods.

The push for a deal comes as Trump begins to lay out his case for re-election next year, arguing that his administration has helped to buoy U.S. growth and employment through tax cuts and deregulation. But the tariffs have begun to bite in districts key to Trump’s political fortunes, including in farm states that traditionally vote Republican.

Mid-level officials began discussions Monday in preparation for two days of talks starting Thursday involving U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Lighthizer and Mnuchin were seen arriving at a  Beijing hotel Tuesday.

See also:

• Can Congress Block Tariffs?
• Another Headwind for China
• Trade War Is “Miles and Miles” from Resolution

Aides to Trump say this week’s talks are important, as they need to demonstrate credible progress to both the president and financial markets. U.S. officials are pressing China to stop allegedly stealing intellectual property from American companies and commit to deeper reforms to a state-driven economic model that they say hurts U.S. competitors.

One of Trump’s most persistent economic promises has been to rewrite the U.S. relationship with China. Yet as he approaches a potential deal, some of the very hawks who have cheered on the president’s trade war already fear he may end up falling short.

The U.S. president hasn’t been clear about whether he’ll sit down to finalize a deal with Xi. This week a White House aide said the U.S. president still wants to meet his Chinese counterpart soon in a bid to end the trade war.

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