China cuts tariffs on over 700 goods amid open-trade drive

beijing — China announced another round of tariff cuts, lowering import taxes on more than 700 goods from January 1 as part of its efforts to open up the economy and lower costs for domestic consumers.

There will also be cuts to some export tariffs, and temporary import tariff rates will be as low as zero for some goods, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Monday.

The ‘temporary’ rates can be changed ad hoc and can be lower than the current Most-Favoured Nations standard though they are also available to all World Trade Organisation members.

This is the third round of tariff cuts announced this year, as China looks to cut costs for consumers and implement President Xi Jinping’s promises to open up further.

US exports will get the benefit of the reductions as well, although most products will still be subject to the retaliatory tariffs until there is a breakthrough in the ongoing talks.

With tariffs on US soybeans stopping a key source of edible meal (often used for animal feed), China will implement zero tariffs on imports of a variety of meals including sunflower and canola, according to a table with the details of the tariffs.

Some materials for pharmaceutical manufacturing will also be sub- ject to zero tariffs, and taxes on high-tech imports will be set “relatively low,” including at 1 per cent for a type of generator for aircraft, and 5 per cent for a type of welding robots used in car assembly lines.

The ministry said MFN tariffs will be further cut for a widerange of information technology imports starting from July 1, 2019, including for medical diagnosis machines, speakers and printers, according to a separate table on its website.

The nation will also scrap export tariffs on 94 items of products starting from the new year, including fertilisers, iron ore, coal tar, and wood pulp. Export tariffs on these goods are as high as 40 per cent currently.