Catenaa, Sunday, February 22, 2026- Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to tariff talks with Donald Trump with a boost in bargaining power, after Trump lost his ability to quickly raise tariffs for nearly any reason.
Weeks before Trump landed in Beijing on March 31, the first trip by an American president since his last visit in 2017, the Supreme Court invalidated his broad emergency tariffs, a key point of leverage over China.
That’s eliminated Trump’s second-term levies on China and left Beijing facing the same 15% global fee applied to US allies, a rate that comes with a 150-day expiry date.
The removal of tariff threats, which last year escalated up to 145%, will make it harder for Trump to press Xi for larger purchases of soybeans, Boeing aircraft and energy.
It also leaves him without a key weapon to strike back if Chinese negotiators make fresh demands in return for allowing a steady flow of rare earth metals that are vital to US manufacturing.
Xi’s team will also likely push harder for access to advanced semiconductors, the removal of trade restrictions on Chinese companies, and reduced US support for self-ruled Taiwan, where Beijing’s focus is on arms sales and stronger language around opposing the island’s independence.
While Trump’s setback is a win for Xi, Chinese officials, like others around the world, have been cautious in their reaction.
Mainland China’s markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays and will reopen on Tuesday, and investors may react positively to the tariff news.
Trump could expand the use of export controls if China restricts rare earth magnets. Beijing’s agreement to restore flows of the vital materials came after the US cut off sales of chip design software, jet engines, and spare airplane parts.
