President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday extending a pause on sharply higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports for another 90 days, a White House official said, averting an automatic increase that was set to take effect at midnight.
The extension came just hours before the existing tariff truce between Washington and Beijing was due to expire. Without the order, U.S. duties on Chinese goods would have returned to April levels, when the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies was at its most intense.
The decision follows talks late last month in Stockholm between U.S. and Chinese negotiators. The two sides first agreed to suspend most tariffs in May after initial meetings in Geneva. That 90-day pause was scheduled to end Tuesday before Trump acted to prolong it.
The White House had signaled in recent days that an extension was likely. "The order was signed just hours before midnight," the official said, noting that the administration continues to seek progress in trade discussions with China.
