President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to seek a breakthrough agreement on Friday aimed at keeping the popular video app TikTok in the United States, while also easing the mounting trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies currently locked in a high-stakes standoff.
US officials indicated that the agreement, a top priority on the agenda, is expected to be discussed Friday morning. While China has not yet confirmed the call, Reuters reports that the talks could pave the way for an in-person summit between Presidents Trump and Xi this November.
Amid high-stakes trade negotiations with the US, China has abruptly dropped a months-long antitrust probe into Google (GOOG) as discussions over a TikTok deal continue, while simultaneously ramping up pressure on domestic purchases of Nvidia (NVDA) chips.
“Drop one case but seize the other,” a person familiar with the matter told FT. “China is trying to narrow its retaliatory targets to make them more potent.”
During Trump’s visit to the UK, several deals and announcements were made. However, Bloomberg reports that the UK has put on hold talks with the US over lifting British steel tariffs, ensuring that the current duties will remain in place.
British pharmaceutical giant GSK (GSK) announced on Wednesday a $30 billion investment in US research and development, becoming the largest drugmaker to expand its American presence. The move comes as President Trump threatens import tariffs on the industry and pushes for greater domestic manufacturing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the US delegation in trade talks with Chinese officials in Spain this week, expressed confidence that a trade deal with China is within reach.
With reciprocal tariffs scheduled to take effect in November, Bessent told reporters he anticipates additional negotiations will take place before then.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is weighing a high-stakes legal challenge to President Trump’s tariffs, with a resolution potentially arriving as early as this fall.
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for early November, setting the case on an unusually fast track toward resolution.
The tariffs in question are the sweeping, country-specific "reciprocal" duties that Trump has rolled out in stages throughout the year, ranging from 10% to 50% (as illustrated in the graphic below). The President has invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify these measures.
The appeals court has permitted the tariffs to remain in effect as the case proceeds through the legal system.
Photo: President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
