Trump Extends Tariff Pause on Chinese Goods | SchiffGold
On Monday President Trump signed an executive order that temporarily keeps additional duties on Chinese imports from snapping back into force, extending a 90-day tariff reprieve that would have expired just after midnight on August 12. The new directive, “Further Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Ongoing Discussions with the People’s Republic of China,” pushes the deadline out to November 10, 2025. While the White House claims Beijing is making “significant steps toward remedying non-reciprocal trade arrangements,” investors see only a fresh layer of policy suspense. Gold prices, already on an upward tear, touched $3,358 per ounce intraday Monday as traders digested the news.
The order continues the suspension of higher duties on products listed under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule—items that were first hit when Trump declared a national emergency over trade deficits in April. Absent the extension, penalties authorized under Executive Order 14298 would have reset to steeper “reciprocal” levels this morning. Instead, the administration will wait another 90 days while negotiators try to hammer out a permanent fix. Critics say the rolling deadlines amount to tariff roulette, leaving importers unsure whether to stockpile inventory or pass potential cost spikes on to consumers.
Authority for the move draws on a familiar alphabet soup of emergency statutes—the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act, and section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, among others. In practice, the order hands the Secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security and the U.S. Trade Representative sweeping discretion to take “all necessary actions” and to invoke “all powers granted to the President by IEEPA” in policing compliance. That broad mandate underscores how quickly federal agencies can rewrite the rules of commerce with little congressional input, a point that should concern free-market advocates.
The 10% “reciprocal tariff” levied earlier this year continues to affect Chinese goods. In a separate statement released Monday, the White House justified the remaining 10% tax: “The 10% reciprocal tariff sets a fair baseline to encourage domestic production, strengthen our supply chains, and ensure that American trade policy supports American workers first, instead of undercutting them.”
With Washington relying on emergency powers and deadline extensions to steer the $575-billion bilateral trade relationship, volatility is likely to persist. If past cycles are any guide, the next 90 days will bring more headlines than clarity—fuel that historically keeps the yellow metal well bid.
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