Trump delays tariffs on China

WASHINGTON >> Responding to pressure from businesses and growing fears that a trade war is threatening the U.S. economy, the Trump administration is delaying some import taxes it planned to impose on Chinese goods and is dropping others altogether.

The announcement Tuesday from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was greeted with relief on Wall Street and by retailers who have grown fearful that the new tariffs would wreck holiday sales.

The administration says it still plans to proceed with 10% tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese imports — extending its import taxes to just about everything China ships to the United States in a dispute over Beijing’s strong-arm trade policies. Most of the new tariffs are scheduled to kick in Sept. 1.

But under pressure from retailers and other businesses, President Donald Trump’s trade office said it would delay until Dec. 15 the 10% tariffs on some Chinese imports, including such popular consumer goods as cellphones, laptops, video game consoles, some toys, computer monitors, shoes and clothing.

The administration is also removing other items from the tariff list entirely, based on what it called “health, safety, national security and other factors.”

Separately, China’s Ministry of Commerce reported that top Chinese negotiators had spoken by phone with their U.S. counterparts, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and planned to talk again in two weeks.

The news sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring more than 400 points in mid-afternoon trading. Shares of Apple, Mattel and shoe brand Steve Madden, which stand to benefit from the delayed tariffs, led the rally.

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump confirmed that he had decided to delay the tariffs, which could force retailers to raise prices, to avoid the economic pain that could result during the holiday period.

“We’re doing (it) just for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs could have an impact,” the president said.

Jay Foreman, CEO of the toy company Basic Fun, said he’s pleased that the 10% tariffs have been delayed for products like his until December. His company, based in Boca Raton, Florida, had already set prices for the holiday season and would have had to absorb the impact of the tariffs. Foreman said he is considering layoffs this fall to offset his higher costs and noted that despite Trump’s reprieve, tariffs remain a severe threat.

“We were relieved,” he said. “But does that stop the volatility and instability? No.”

Together, the news of negotiations and tariff delays provided at least a respite after weeks of heightened U.S.-China trade tensions. The relief might prove only temporary, though, if the tariffs eventually take full effect and Beijing retaliates against U.S. exports.

The Trump administration is fighting the Chinese regime over allegations that Beijing steals trade secrets, forces foreign companies to hand over technology and unfairly subsidizes its own firms. Those tactics are part of Beijing’s drive to become a world leader in such advanced technologies as artificial intelligence and electric cars.

But 12 rounds of talks have failed produce any resolution. Frustrated with the stall, Trump raised the tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25% in May and said Aug. 1 that he’d impose 10% taxes on an additional $300 billion on Sept. 1.

KIN CHEUNG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A staff member works on a mobile phone production line during a media tour in Huawei factory in Dongguan, China’s Guangdong province. Huawei Technologies Co. is one of the world’s biggest supplier of telecommunications equipment. The United States is delaying tariffs on Chinese-made cellphones, laptop computers and other items and removing other Chinese imports from its target list altogether in a move that triggered a rally on Wall Street.