Trump Announces Delay of Section 301 Tariff Increase
President Donald Trump will again postpone an increase to Section 301 tariffs on China that had been set to take effect March 1, he said Feb. 24 in a pair of tweets. The delay comes as a result of “substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues,” he said.
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The tariffs, which cover $200 billion in Chinese imports, had been set to increase from the current 10 percent duty to 25 percent. The deadline for the increase was originally Jan. 1, but Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in December to push the effective date to March 1 to allow time for negotiations.
Trump tweeted that he intends meet Xi to broker a final deal, though he gave no date for the meeting or for the new tariff deadline. “Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement,” he said. “A very good weekend for U.S. & China!”