U.S. President Donald Trump bowed to pressure from American businesses and concerns over the economic fallout of his trade war with China, delaying the imposition of new tariffs on a wide variety of consumer products including toys and laptops until December.
Tuesday's move to at least hit the pause button in his fight with China came as senior officials on both sides had their first phone conversation since Trump threatened the tariffs at the beginning of this month. It also cheered markets that had been growing increasingly concerned over the impact of trade tensions on a slowing global economy. U.S. stocks halted a two-day slide, and Asian equities climbed.
Trump said the latest conversation with China had been "productive" and that "they would really like to make a deal." Though he has often denied his tariffs have any impact on consumer prices and insists their cost is being borne by China, he also said the delay had been made "so it won't be relevant to the Christmas shopping season."