President Trump said that he would consider delaying the March 2 deadline and that the United States might not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if talks with Beijing were going well.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Tuesday that he would consider delaying a March 2 deadline to reach a trade deal with China, saying the United States might not impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if talks with Beijing were going well.
“If we’re close to a deal where we think we can make a real deal, I could see myself letting them slide for a little while,” Mr. Trump said during remarks at the Oval Office.
Mr. Trump’s comments came as American officials were in Beijing for a week of talks with Chinese officials to try to resolve a trade war that has begun to inflict economic damage on both sides of the Pacific. The two countries are trying to work out significant differences ahead of the March 2 deadline, when the United States has said it will increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent.
Both Mr. Trump and his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, have previously said that the deadline is a firm date and that the United States will not extend the timeline, which Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China agreed upon during a dinner in Buenos Aires last year.
But with many of the biggest issues unresolved and the deadline drawing near, Mr.
