US, China eye extension of trade truce as EU deal takes shape

The US and China concluded their latest round of tariff and trade talks in Sweden on Tuesday, with both sides touting progress. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump would make the final call on extending the trade truce between the world's two largest economies.

This week's talks were the third round for the countries, which have slowly deescalated trade tensions since Trump imposed gargantuan tariffs in April, and China reciprocated. The countries suspended those tariffs for 90 days — a suspension that is set to end on Aug. 12. Bessent said another 90-day extension is possible.

Meanwhile, the US and EU are racing to lock in the final details of their major new trade deal before President Trump's self-imposed Friday deadline to reach agreements with partners other than China.

Critics say it's a rushed fix, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling the outcome unsatisfying and France’s Bayrou dubbing the EU’s "submission" a "dark day." The agreement includes a baseline tariff rate of 15% on most EU goods imported into the US. Trump called the deal “the biggest of them all."