Trump delays new tariffs on Chinese phones, toys until mid-December

The move narrows the impact of tariffs that President Trump said at the beginning of August that he would impose on a remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports that escaped tariffs so far, escalating the trade war with Beijing. Officials from the United States and China have been negotiating the terms of a trade deal for the last few months, but after the latest round of talks in Shanghai, the president accused China of failing to follow through on its promises to the U.S., including buying agricultural products and halting the sale of the addictive opiate fentanyl.

The U.S. currently has tariffs of 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese products. Trump first threatened to impose duties on the rest in May after trade talks between the U.S. and Beijing fell apart, then backed down after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan in late June.

Products slated for tariffs on Sept. 1 now include livestock, meat, dairy products such as milk and cheese, men’s suits and women’s hose, the administration said Tuesday. After the update, Trump again accused China of backtracking on promises made during trade negotiations.

“As usual, China said they were going to be buying ‘big’ from our great American Farmers,” he tweeted. “So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!”