President Donald Trump signed off on a phase-one trade deal with China, averting the Dec. 15 introduction of a new wave of U.S. tariffs on about $160 billion of consumer goods from the Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump’s latest missives on trade are a wake-up call to markets close to record highs that a major deadline is looming with China.

BERLIN — Outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says he does not think U.S. President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs targeting European automobiles.

Beijing wants a rollback in tariffs in its trade war with the U.S. before China can feasibly agree to buy as much as $50 billion of American agriculture products that President Donald Trump claims are part of an initial deal, people familiar with the matter said.

In the trade war with the U.S., China’s tariffs have targeted agricultural goods for a couple main reasons: They make up a large proportion of U.S. exports to China, but also because they strike at the heart of President Donald Trump’s base of support in farm country.

President Donald Trump got the go-ahead from the World Trade Organization to impose tariffs on as much as $7.5 billion worth of European exports annually in retaliation for illegal government aid to Airbus. The award is the largest in WTO history.

The European Union is weighing an aggressive new approach to its trade dispute with the U.S., signaling a willingness to engage in the combative tactics embraced by President Donald Trump and risking a further deterioration in transatlantic relations.

BEIJING — China will lift punitive tariffs imposed on U.S. soybeans and pork in a trade war with Washington, a state news agency said Sept. 13, adding to conciliatory gestures by the two sides ahead of negotiations.

Trump administration officials have discussed offering a limited trade agreement to China that would delay and even roll back some U.S. tariffs for the first time in exchange for Chinese commitments on intellectual property and agricultural purchases, according to sources.

WASHINGTON — The United States and China traded conciliatory gestures, raising hopes they can de-escalate a standoff over trade that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the global economy.