China removes several US products from tariffs list
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/09/china-removes-several-us-products-from.html
China on Wednesday said it would spare a number of US products from
punitive tariffs in what is seen as an olive branch by Beijing in the
protracted trade war ahead of high-level talks next month.
However, the goods do not include big-ticket agricultural items that
could be crucial to the ultimate success of any agreement between the
two sides, whose stand-off is dragging on the global economy.
The exemptions will become effective on September 17 and be valid for
a year, according to the Customs Tariff Commission of the State
Council, which released two lists that include seafood products and
anti-cancer drugs.
The lists mark the first time Beijing has announced products to be excluded from tariffs.
Other categories that will become exempt include alfalfa pellets,
fish feed, medical linear accelerators and mould release agents, while
the commission said it was also considering further exemptions.
Trade negotiators have said they will meet in Washington in early
October, raising hopes for an easing of tensions between the world’s two
biggest economies.
Both sides imposed fresh tit-for-tat tariffs on September 1 in the
latest round of levies, which now cover goods worth hundreds of billions
of dollars.
“These adjustments signal that China is more willing to make progress
in the October trade talks, likely toward striking a ‘narrow’ agreement
that involves China buying more US goods in exchange for the US
suspending further tariff hikes,” Barclays analysts said in a research
note.
The analysts said Beijing had been sounding a more “constructive” note in recent weeks over trade relations.
In a sign of the pressure being felt by China, the central People’s
Bank of China said on Friday it would cut the amount of cash lenders
must keep in reserve, allowing for an estimated $126 billion in
additional loans to businesses.
China’s economy grew 6.2 per cent on-year in the second quarter, the lowest rate in nearly three decades.
President Donald Trump on Friday said the weight of the protracted trade war is damaging China more than the US.
“China is eating the tariffs,” he said on Twitter, repeating his
claim that higher duties mean Washington is collecting billions of
dollars from the Asian giant, without costs being passed on to US
consumers.
But experts have warned there are signs the US is also feeling the
pinch, with job creation slowing across major industries last month.
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