JOLLY GOOD FUN China, US agree on import deals
TALKS: POTENTIAL BOON FOR CARMAKERS TESLA, BMW
‘Beijing agrees to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from US.’
Washington
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday China had agreed to cut import tariffs on American-made cars, a potential boon for carmakers including Tesla Inc and BMW, which manufacture in the US for export to China.
Trump, fresh from agreeing a 90-day ceasefire in his trade war with China at the G20 meeting, said on Twitter: “China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the US. Currently the tariff is 40%.”
The move, if realised, would bolster US car manufacturers, who were hit hard when China ramped up levies on US-made cars in July as part of a broad package of retaliatory tariffs amid a sprawling trade war between Washington and Beijing.
China, the world’s largest car market, raised tariffs on US car imports to 40% in July, forcing many carmakers to hike prices in a major hit to the roughly $10 billion (R140 billion) worth of passenger vehicles the US sent to China last year.
That put US-made car brands like Tesla and Ford Motor Co’s Lincoln at a major disadvantage, soon after China slashed car import tariffs broadly to 15% for most vehicles.
Trump’s tweet did not give any further detail about the tariff cuts, such as when the deal had been reached, or a new level for the Chinese levies.
The White House and the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late on Sunday.
China’s commerce and finance ministries did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
After a two-and-half-hour dinner with Xi Jinping on Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Trump agreed to postpone an increase in the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% that was scheduled for January 1. China agreed to resume purchases of some US farm and energy commodities.
The two sides also agreed to negotiate during the next 90 days over “structural changes” to China’s policies on technology transfers, intellectual property protection, nontariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture.
Major US carmakers said they were unaware of the lower tariffs on exports to China. – Reuters