The Financial Times report a US trade official as saying Trump's promised higher tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods would not apply to goods that are already in transit.
- They will only hit goods that depart from China starting on Friday.
In effect, say the FT:
- The clarification from the Trump administration on Wednesday offers US and Chinese negotiators a window of two to four extra weeks to reach a deal before the bulk of the pain from the higher tariffs directly hits US consumers and businesses, based on shipping times between the countries.
More time for talks! Awesome! (Will the sage ever end??? Trade deal of Brexit first, the question remains)