US sets date for China tariff increases amid talks

Workers paint the ground at a port in Qingdao, Shandong province, China. [Photo: Reuters]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The US Trade Representative’s office on Friday officially changed the scheduled date of a tariff rate increase on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on March 2, 2019 as the United States and China pursue talks on trade and intellectual property.

The change was made in a Federal Register filing from a previously scheduled effective date of Jan. 1, 2019 for the increase to 25 percent from 10 percent.