(Aug 24): The trade war between the US and China is primed to escalate after their governments failed to make progress in two days of talks.

The two sides had met with low expectations for this week’s meetings and no further talks had been scheduled, a person familiar with the discussions said. The person, who requested anonymity to discuss the private deliberations, also said Chinese officials had raised the possibility that no further negotiations could happen until after November’s mid-term elections in the US.

The lack of progress and the looming prospect of further tariffs from both sides adds to the uncertainty for businesses, who have to decide whether it makes sense to invest in China or the US, given the rising political tensions and risk of punishing new taxes on trade. A new round of tariffs could come as soon as early September, but there is no guarantee that will be the last, or that there won’t be other measures.

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