President Trump has delayed high US tariffs on Chinese imports by another 90 days, taking the new deadline to mid-November. China followed suit and delayed its own tariffs before the end of the Aug. 11 deadline, as confirmed by CNBC.

"The United States continues to have discussions with the PRC [People's Republic of China] to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship and our resulting national and economic security concerns," reads an executive order signed by Trump yesterday. "Through these discussions, the PRC continues to take significant steps toward remedying non-reciprocal trade arrangements and addressing the concerns of the United States relating to economic and national security matters."

As a result, "I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to continue the [tariff delay] until 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 10, 2025," the EO adds.

Had Trump not delayed the tariffs, Chinese goods entering the US would've faced a 145% tariff, while China had threatened 125% reciprocal tariffs on US goods entering its country. Instead, Chinese goods will incur a 30% tariff, while China will collect a 10% tariff for now.

Representatives from the US and China met for trade talks in late July in Stockholm, Sweden, at which point US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tweeted, “I believe that we have the makings of a deal that will benefit both of our great nations.” The post has since been deleted. Bessent also told CNBC that President Trump has the “final say on all trade deals.”

The last-minute changes are the latest confusing move for US businesses working with suppliers, manufacturers, and other parties in China. Last week, Trump said the US would place a 100% tariff on chips and semiconductors built outside the US.

"If you’ve made a commitment to build or are in the process of building, as many of you are, there’s no tariff," Trump said at an Oval Office event that included Apple CEO Tim Cook adding another $100 billion to his company's US manufacturing pledge. However, we haven't seen any specifics on how the White House is assessing those commitments or buildouts.

Nvidia and AMD, meanwhile, have agreed to give 15% of the revenue they earn on AI chip sales to China directly to the US government.

For now, this may mean we continue to see fluctuations in the price of consumer tech goods. In early August, Nintendo announced it would increase the price of its original Switch console by up to $50 due to “market conditions.”

By: DocMemory
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