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\n Chinese and American trade negotiators concluded their two-day meeting in Stockholm without a resolution to avert tariffs from skyrocketing back to ultra-high levels that formed an effective blockade on trade between the world\u2019s two largest economies. But President Donald Trump\u2019s trade advisers and their Chinese counterparts sounded a hopeful note.\n <\/p>\n
\n Without an agreement, the United States and China are set to once again place historic tariffs on each other\u2019s imports starting August 12.\n <\/p>\n
\n However, speaking to reporters from Stockholm, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two-day meeting was \u201cconstructive,\u201d and suggested that a deal to extend the tariff pause was likely.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cJust to tamp down that rhetoric, the meetings were very productive,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cWe just haven\u2019t been given that signoff.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n They said that no decision had been made yet about whether to extend the pause on each country\u2019s extraordinary tariffs because President Donald Trump needs to make that decision.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWith respect to a potential pause, we\u2019re going to head back to Washington, DC, we\u2019re going to talk to the president, about whether that\u2019s something that he wants to do,\u201d Greer said. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly something that\u2019s under discussion.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Trump, speaking with reporters Tuesday, also added a hopeful note.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI just had a phone call from Scott [Bessent], and he had a very good meeting with China,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd it seems that they are going to brief me tomorrow, and we\u2019ll either approve it or not, but he felt very good about the meeting \u2013 better than he felt yesterday.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cToday, it worked out,\u201d Trump added. He also said he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of this year.\n <\/p>\n
\n Li Chenggang, the International Trade Representative for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, told reporters Tuesday that, even after the conclusion of the talks, \u201cboth sides will continue to push for the scheduled extension,\u201d according to CCTV, a Chinese state media outlet.\n <\/p>\n
\n Bessent disputed any notion that Li\u2019s comments should be taken to mean that an extension was agreed upon just yet.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe Chinese deputy minister did say that we had agreed on a pause. We have not. Nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump,\u201d Bessent said, answering a question about whether there was an agreement to extend the August 12 deadline. Greer added, \u201cThe president has discretion to change the rate depending on the circumstances that we have.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/gettyimages-2226925002.jpg\")
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\n Later, in an interview with CNBC, Bessent said, \u201cI think our Chinese counterparts have jumped the gun a little.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n In May, China agreed to lower tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10%, while the US agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%.\n <\/p>\n
\n Greer said that tariffs on Chinese goods shipped to the US could jump by around an additional 34% if a deal is not agreed on by August 12 \u2013 below the 145% peak level.\n <\/p>\n
\n But Bessent cautioned that just because the meeting ended without a deal, that didn\u2019t mean that a deal would not be reached before the August 12 deadline.\n <\/p>\n
\n Negotiators for the Trump administration and their Chinese counterparts had met starting on Monday to <\/strong>discuss their latest agreement. It was the third such meeting, following a 90-day truce reached in Geneva<\/a> in May and a further hammering out of that framework in London<\/a> in June after it appeared the Geneva agreement was on the verge of collapse.\n <\/p>\n \n Among the key issues the two nations agreed upon in past sessions were lowering tariffs and increasing the supply of rare earth magnets to US companies for use in a wide variety of crucial electronics \u2013 a promise the Trump administration has continued to accuse China of violating.\n <\/p>\n \n After winning some concessions from China in exchange for lower tariffs and a loosening of restrictions on some key technologies, Trump eased off the confrontational tone he took on China in months past. Trump has said he is eager to meet with Xi \u2013 a meeting the Chinese leader has supposedly offered but not yet arranged.\n <\/p>\n