US postpones additional tariffs on Chinese imports until January

The additional tariffs on imports of Chinese goods, which were suspended until November, will be postponed for another two months, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday (local time) at the start of a three-day state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington.

“We agreed today to extend the so-called Busan Agreement,” said Bessent. In Busan, South Korea, President Donald Trump and China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping agreed to suspend high additional tariffs last October. The trade conflict between the two countries had previously escalated in April 2025 when the governments imposed additional tariffs of over 100 percent on each other.

Instead of November 10th, the postponement will now apply until January 10th, Bessent announced. “This gives us more time to examine what we can do on an economic level.” According to Bessent, the agreement was preceded by several meetings with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng.

The Chinese side did not immediately comment on the postponement announced by Bessent.

Also export controls part of the Busan Agreement

The relationship between the two economic giants is also strained by export controls. The Busan meeting prevented China from introducing additional export controls on further rare earths and technological knowledge for them. Beijing continues to allow the export of important raw materials such as rare earths only after lengthy approval procedures. For its part, the USA is withholding important technology, such as the most modern computer chips for the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

The postponement comes just as Xi's three-day state visit to Washington begins. In addition to the trade dispute between the two countries, topics will also include security in dealing with artificial intelligence. Trump and Xi are also likely to talk about global conflicts such as the Iran War and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.