Some US goods get tariff exemptions

China on Friday released a list of tax-exempt goods from US imports which were slapped with tariffs in the trade war, paving the way for more purchases of US products amid the spread of COVID-19, which reflects an interdependent trade relationship, analysts said.

To exempt products from each other, though not part of the phase one trade deal, was a scheduled move aimed at mitigating pressure for industries and firms from both countries, experts close to the deal told the Global Times on Friday.

It is the first list of tax-exempt goods for the second batch of US imports which had been slapped additional tariffs in retaliation for the US 301 investigation against China.

Products involved include high-tech medical machines such as gene sequencing machines and parts of an aircraft autopilot system, according to a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Friday.

Exemptions take effect from February 28 to February 27, 2021, the statement said.

These products are also urgently needed in China to fight the virus. The exemption also paves the way for China’s large purchases, said Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce’s International Market Research Institute.

“It’s also a burden relaxation move for domestic enterprises, which bear huge losses and a disruption in the supply chain, and delayed work resumption amid the virus,” Bai said.

On February 18, China announced that 696 items imported from the US will be exempt from the additional tariffs for one year, including pork, soybeans and liquefied natural gas.

“China has been willing to shore up bilateral relations with the US under the framework of the recent signed phase one trade deal,” Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday.