US delays planned tariffs until December
THE US said yesterday it will delay the additional tariffs on certain Chinese products from September 1 to December 15.
Products whose tariffs will be delayed until December 15 include “computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer, monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing,” the United States Trade Representative said in a statement quoted by Global Times.
A separate group of products will also be exempt altogether, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors,” it added.
The USTR’s action was published just minutes after China’s Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with US trade officials, Global Times reported.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the ChinaUS comprehensive economic dialogue, held a phone conversation with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin yesterday.
Solemn representations
In the phone talks, China lodged solemn representations concerning US additional tariffs on the Chinese imports starting on September 1.
The two sides agreed to hold another phone conversation in two weeks.
Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang, and Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Ning Jizhe also joined the talks.
Delaying tariffs showed the US tactic of maximum pressure on China has fallen through, Mei Xinyu, a veteran expert close to the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times. Wang Jun, chief economist at Zhongyuan Bank, said yesterday’s development was more of a gesture rather than a concession from the US side. He doubted whether the decision would stand, given Washington’s flip-flop approach in trade negotiations.
The US had planned to impose additional 10-percent tariffs on US$300 billion worth of Chinese imports on August 1, which seriously violated the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Osaka in June.
(Shanghai Daily)