No tariff pause announced after US-China talks, with Trump set to make the ‘final call’

US and Chinese negotiators wrapped up two days of talks Tuesday without an immediate announcement of a further tariff delay between the world’s two largest economies as markets watch closely for an offramp to avert additional duties that could be in the offing in about two weeks time.

“We’re going to head back to Washington DC and we’re going to talk to the president about whether that’s something that he wants to do,” said Trade Representative Jamieson Greer after the talks concluded in Stockholm, Sweden.

“The president can make a final call,” he added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added to reporters Tuesday that it was “a very fulsome two days” of talks and that another 90-day pause remains on the table with the overall tone of talks being “very constructive.”

“The two sides will continue to push for the continued extension of the pause,” added Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang, according to a translation, in his own brief comments to reporters,

Both Bessent and Greer underlined Tuesday that rates could “boomerang” back to the much higher April levels depending on the president’s decision and that nothing is final until Trump signs off.

Bessent added that negotiators didn’t discuss a face-to-face gathering between the two presidents and that the focus was on policy from Russian oil consumption to rare earth minerals to Chinese export controls and “not to discuss if there would be a meeting.”

The lack of that hoped-for tariff announcement (at least for today) could put in jeopardy the current headline rates of 30% on Chinese imports and 10% on American goods (though sector-specific tariffs push overall tariffs higher) amid renewed fears of a market-rattling snap back to triple digital levels seen earlier this year.

That lack of conclusion following the discussions in Sweden means that the higher rates do remain scheduled to kick in Aug. 12 absent another pause.

It was the third meeting of the American and Chinese trade teams in recent months, with previous gatherings having taken place in Geneva and London. Bessent said Tuesday that each meeting has built on the last.

He added that a followup meeting likely in about 90 days or so.

He Lifeng, China’s vice premier for economic policy, led the talks for his country. His colleague Li Chenggang added that the two sides had “candid exchanges over each others trade and economic concerns.”

This latest round of talks had an array of issues on the table, from solidifying recent progress on semiconductors (including a plan to allow the resumption of Nvidia’s (NVDA) AI chip exports to China) as well as Chinese exports of rare earth minerals and China’s consumption of Russian oil.