The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering an extension on a trade deadline with China that would see higher tariffs on goods as of 12 August if a deal is not reached.
The U.S. and China both agreed to a 90-day pause on high tariffs in May after a series of escalations by the Trump administration ended up with tariffs as high as 145 percent on goods from China. China, in response, imposed tariffs of its own, reaching as high as 125 percent on U.S. goods.
Now, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business during an interview the two countries are working out “what is likely an extension” during trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden.
“I think we’ve moved to a new level with China, where it’s very constructive and we’re going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade has settled in at a good level,” Bessent said.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the country plans to continue to host trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, with more talks taking place at the beginning of next week.
“The talks primarily concern the relationship between the U.S. and China but are also of great importance for global trade and the economy,” Kristersson said. “Protecting rules-based world trade and Sweden's economic interests in a complicated world is one of the government's top priorities. I look forward to meeting the representatives of the U.S. and China on Swedish soil.”
As the U.S. and China reportedly hash out a trade deal, the European Union is apparently considering using the “nuclear option” to try and stave of the threat of Trump’s proposed 30 percent tariffs on the bloc.
Trump added the E.U. to a list of trading partners being threatened with 30 percent tariffs in mid-July, giving them an 1 August deadline to come up with a trade deal with the U.S. Now, E.U. diplomats told Reuters they may consider using wide-ranging “anti-coercion” measures, often called the “nuclear option,” as a means of discouraging the tariffs.
The E.U.’s anti-coercion measures entered into force on 27 December 2023 and are designed, per the E.U.’s description, to prevent coercion by third countries if they sought to pressure the E.U. or an E.U. member state into making particular choices by “applying, or threatening to apply, measures affecting trade or investment.”
Under the framework, the E.U. would go through a process to determine whether coercion was taking place, and then if it decided there was, would go on to adopt response measures. Those could include restrictions on access to the E.U. market.
“The list of options is broad and covers areas such as trade in goods, services, foreign direct investment, financial markets, public procurement, trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, export controls, and more,” the E.U. description of the rule states.
Cutting off access to the E.U. market would impact a significant market for U.S. seafood. In 2024, the U.S. exported over USD 350 million (EUR 298 million) to the Netherlands alone, according to NOAA Fisheries data.
