President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will look to reach an agreement on Friday that will help keep the video app TikTok in the US and ease tensions between the two major economies that are currently locked in a standoff over trade.
US officials said the agreement, which is at the top of the agenda, is expected to be discussed on Friday morning. China has yet to confirm plans for the call, but according to Reuters, it is expected to lead to a in-person summit between Trump and Xi in November.
Amid complex trade talks with the US, China dropped a months-long antitrust probe into Google (GOOG) amid discussions of a TikTok deal — while also increasing pressure on domestic purchases of Nvidia (NVDA) chips.
“Drop one case but seize the other,” a person familiar with the matter told FT. “China is trying to narrow its retaliatory targets to make them more potent.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s visit to the UK saw some deals and announcements. The UK has shelved plans to talk with the US on removing British steel tariffs, meaning current duties will stay in place, according to a report in Bloomberg.
British drugmaker GSK (GSK) said on Wednesday they will invest $30 billion in US research and development. GSK is the largest pharmaceutical firm to scale up its US footprint as Trump threatens to impose import tariffs on the industry and seeks more domestic manufacturing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the US delegation during talks with Chinese trade officials in Spain this week, said that he is confident a trade deal with China is near.
With reciprocal tariffs set to take effect in November, Bessent told reporters he expects further talks to happen before then.
In the background, the Supreme Court is reviewing a high-stakes legal challenge to President Trump’s tariffs, setting up a resolution as early as this fall.
The high court put the case on track for oral arguments in early November. That puts the case on an unusually quick track to resolution.
The tariffs at stake are the sweeping “reciprocal,” country-specific duties Trump has outlined in various steps this year (which you can see in the graphic below). Those duties range from 10% to 50%. Trump has used a 1977 law known as “IEEPA” — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — to justify imposing the tariffs.
The appeals court allowed the tariffs to stay in place while the case moves through the legal process.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE 1874 updates
Trump sets the stage for his highly anticipated Friday call with Xi Jinping
There are high expectations today for President Trump’s call with China’s President Xi Jinping. Yahoo Finance’s Washington Correspondent, Ben Werschkul delves into what appears to be the most anticipated call of the year.
Threats to the global economic order have come quick and fast since President Trump took office back in January, however, the reaction from world equity and bond markets has been a “somewhat remarkable shrug.“
Reuters reports:
TikTok is expected to be top of the agenda list for Friday morning’s call between President Trump and China’s President Jinping, as both sides seek to help keep the video app stay online in the US and ease tensions between the two sides that are currently locked in a trade standoff.
Reuters reports:
Thu, September 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM UTC Agriculture secretary: Tariffs could fund bailout for US farmers
The Trump administration is drawing up plans to use tariff revenue to fund a program to support US farmers, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told the Financial Times.
The plans come as farmers head into harvest time grappling with a drop in export sales and a rise in input costs.
The FT reports:
Thu, September 18, 2025 at 9:30 AM UTC China drops Google antitrust probe during US trade talks
China is dropping an antitrust probe into Google (GOOG), as Beijing and Washington step up negotiations over TikTok, Nvidia (NVDA), and trade, per the Financial Times.
The move comes as tensions run high between the US and China, which held three days of talks in Madrid this week.
A Chinese antitrust investigation into Nvidia is moving ahead after authorities said this week that a preliminary probe found it had violated anti-monopoly law. Meanwhile, Beijing has effectively banned China’s big tech companies from ordering Nvidia’s AI chips.
The Financial Times reports:
Thu, September 18, 2025 at 9:05 AM UTC Swiss watch exports plunge as US tariffs add to China demand woes
Bloomberg reports:
US drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to sell 60% ownership in a pharmaceutical joint venture in China.
As tariffs take hold and President Trump seeks more investment from companies into the US, many firms are exiting foreign investments in a bid to lower the impact higher levies may have.
Reuters reports:
FedEx (FDX) will report a quarterly profit hit from President Trump‘s decision to end tariff-exempt treatment for popular direct-to-consumer shipments, such as small parcels under $800.
Reuters reports:
Pharmaceutical company GSK (GSK) said on Wednesday that it will invest $30 billion in US research and development, as well as supply chain infrastructure over the next five years, after President Trump arrived in Britain and in a bid ease tariffs.
Reuters reports:
President Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have finally spoken in a move that some hope will help ease tensions between the two economies amid a fight over tariffs and New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases.
Bloomberg News reports:
Tue, September 16, 2025 at 3:03 PM UTC US to consider new national security tariffs on auto parts
Reuters reports:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he is confident a trade deal with China is near.
With reciprocal tariffs set to take effect in November, Bessent said during an interview with CNBC that he expects further talks to happen before then.
“We’ll be seeing each other again,” he said during a wide-ranging exchange on Squawk Box. “Each one of those talks has become more and more productive. I think the Chinese now sense that a trade deal is possible.”
Tue, September 16, 2025 at 10:46 AM UTC Wall Street, Corporate America brace for more tariff turmoil
Reuters reports:
The European Union said on Tuesday it will delay presenting its new Russia sanctions after President Trump pushed for tougher European measures before the US proceeds with its own.
Bloomberg News reports:
China ruled on Monday that Nvidia (NVDA) violated anti-monopoly laws with a high-profile deal in 2020, increasing the pressure on Washington during sensitive trade negotiations continue in Madrid.
Nvidia’s stock fell almost 3% before the bell.
Bloomberg News reports:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Monday that they are “very close” to resolving the TikTok issue with China, as trade discussions resumed in Madrid.
Bloomberg News reports: