U.S. and China hold Paris talks
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer met China’s He Lifeng in Paris for a sixth round of trade talks. - The bigger detail is what hangs over them: the Supreme Court’s 6-3 February ruling killed Trump’s broad IEEPA tariff tool. - That leaves talks more important, but also less clear, because Washington now has fewer blunt options to pressure Beijing.
Trade talks are back. But the real story is that the old leverage is not. U.S. officials met Chinese counterparts in Paris this week for another round of negotiations, trying to keep a very tense economic relationship from sliding into something worse. The catch is that Washington is doing this after the Supreme Court blew up President Donald Trump’s broad tariff strategy on February 20, 2026. (wncy.com) ### Who met in Paris? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris in what Reuters described as the sixth round of talks. Chinese accounts also tied in senior trade negotiator Li Chenggang, and both sides used the same diploma(wncy.com)that the channel is still open. (wncy.com) ### Why does this round matter more? Because the legal backdrop changed. On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs. That was the foundation for Trump’s sweeping global tariff regime. Once that fell, the White(wncy.com)es at once. (supremecourt.gov) ### So is Trump out of tariff tools? No — but the toolbox is narrower. The Court did not ban tariffs in general. It said this specific emergency-powers law could not be used that way. So the administration can still reach for older trade statutes, sector cases, anti-dumping rules, and negotiated purchase deals. (supremecourt.gov)oreign governments to game around. That is why these talks suddenly matter more. (supremecourt.gov) ### What are the two sides actually trying to do? Basically, they are trying to stabilize a relationship that neither side trusts. Earlier Paris talks in March were described as an effort to create “stability,” and the discussions reportedly touched farm goods, managed trade, and formal mechanisms for handling d(supremecourt.gov)ils — enough structure to stop every disagreement from turning into a tariff shock. (cnbc.com) ### Why does business care so much? Because uncertainty is often worse than a bad answer. If companies know a 25% tariff is coming, they can reroute suppliers, raise prices, or eat the margin. If they do not know which legal tool Washington will use next, when it will hit, or whether Beijing will retaliate with export cont(cnbc.com)pain. They struggle to price improvisation. (tax.thomsonreuters.com) ### Is this only about trade now? Not really. The U.S.-China channel is bleeding into other pressure points, including Iran and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Bessent publicly pushed China this week to use its inf(tax.thomsonreuters.com)ed together. (msn.com) ### Does “constructive” mean progress? Usually, no. It means nobody walked out. Still, that is not nothing. When legal tools are weaker and geopolitical risks are wider, just keeping senior negotiators talking has value. ### Bottom line? Paris did not solve (msn.com)and more old-fashioned negotiation. That is better for avoiding sudden escalation, but worse for clarity. Businesses still do not know the rules of the game. (wncy.com)
