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News > China

China, US Grant Trade Concessions Ahead of New Talks

  • Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China August 6, 2019.

    Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China August 6, 2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 11 September 2019
Opinion

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed China’s decision calling it a “big move” by Beijing and a positive gesture before trade negotiators from both countries meet in Washington.

China and the United States decided Wednesday to ease back on sanctions ahead of a fresh round of talks aimed at defusing a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

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The Chinese government announced it will exempt some U.S. goods from its tariffs, which covers two lists with 16 categories of goods, and will be valid from Sept. 17, 2019, to Sept. 16, 2020, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in a statement.

The products include some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants, as well as animal feed ingredients whey and fish meal.  Some of the categories will apply for refunds of levied duties within six months starting Wednesday.

“The tariff exemption mechanism, a common practice used in the U.S., Canada, and other economies, is helping ease the impact of the China-U.S. economic and trade frictions and enterprises' burdens," Chen Huaisheng, a legal expert with the China Chamber of International Commerce told Xinhua.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed China’s decision calling it a “big move” by Beijing and a positive gesture before trade negotiators from both countries meet in Washington, as he told reporters at the White House.

In a concession tit-for-tat, on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the U.S. will delay increasing tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese imports from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15 “as a gesture of goodwill.” The tariffs were set to increase to 30 from 25 percent on the goods.

This comes as Chinese trade deputies are expected to meet with their U.S. counterparts in mid-September in Washington before minister-level meetings in early October in the U.S. capital, involving Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

However, on Tuesday a senior White House advisor urged investors, businesses and the public to be patient about resolving the two-year trade war between the United States and China, playing down expectations for the next rounds of trade talks. 

“If we’re going to get a great result, we really have to let the process take its course,” warned the Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro. The advisor is known for been a consistent advocate of the administration’s use of tariffs as a way to coerce Beijing into making concessions during the bilateral negotiations.

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