Tariff exemptions back on 352 China products
The US government announced on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) it would reinstate tariff exemptions for 352 Chinese products first hit with punitive duties in 2018, when then-president Donald Trump started a trade war with Beijing.
The exemptions lapsed in late 2020, but President Joe Biden’s administration last October began seeking opinions on which of 549 eligible Chinese products should once again be excluded from the tariffs.
Beijing welcomed the reinstatement, but urged Washington to remove all additional tariffs on its goods for the benefit of their trade relations.
In a statement on Wednesday, the US Trade representative said: “Today’s determination was made after careful consideration of the public comments, and in consultation with other US agencies.”
The exclusions are retroactive to October 12 of last year and extend through the end of 2022, it added.
The Biden administration has been under pressure from businesses, as well as Democratic and Republican lawmakers, to alleviate the tariff burden, which critics say exacerbate supply issues and drive up prices as the US deals with a record wave of inflation.
The trade conflict between the US and China began when Trump imposed tariffs on $370-billion worth of Chinese products, citing “unfair” trade practices.
However, more than 2,200 exclusions were granted and 549 of those were extended, with most of the exclusions expiring at the end of 2020.
In January 2020, Washington and Beijing signed a so-called phase-one trade agreement under which Beijing pledged to increase its purchases of American products and services by at least $200 billion over 2020 and 2021 — a target China fell short of amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has pledged to “engage robustly” with Beijing over its commitment to the deal, but said in January that “we’re in a very difficult stage of this trade relationship” and “the conversations are not easy.”
Commenting on the US move, Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Shu Jueting told a press conference the reinstatement was conducive to the normal trade of these goods.
China has always maintained that US imposing additional tariffs does no good to the two countries and the world, Shu said.
“As the world faces rising inflation and challenges [to] economic recovery, China hopes the US, in the fundamental interests of consumers and producers in both countries, will cancel all additional tariffs it has imposed on Chinese products soon to push the bilateral economic and trade ties back on the right track as early as possible,” the spokesman added.