China yesterday introduced a new list of tariff exemptions for imports from the US, days after the world’s two largest economies announced a “phase one” trade deal.
The tariff waivers are to take effect on Thursday next week and are to apply to six items, most of them chemical products, such as white oil, high-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and food-grade petroleum wax, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said.
The exemption is for one year and ends on Dec. 25 next year, the ministry said, but did not provide the value of the import goods excluded from duties.
Duties already imposed on US products will not be refunded, the ministry added.
China waived import tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the US on Dec. 6, before the two sides reached a “phase one” trade deal to cancel tariffs that were planned to take effect on Sunday.
China said it would continue to work on the product exemptions and release a second waiver list at an appropriate time.
The Sino-US trade dispute has been a major headache for global policymakers, as it slowed economic growth worldwide and chilled business investment and confidence.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last week acknowledged there remained hard work ahead in the next phase of negotiations.
He gave no specific timetable, but said US President Donald Trump did not want to wait until after next year’s presidential election to wrap up a more comprehensive agreement.
China and the US are in close communication over the signing of their “phase one” trade deal, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
The deal would see lower US tariffs on Chinese goods, and higher purchases of US farm, energy and manufactured goods.
Both the Chinese and US trade teams are in close contact, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng (高峰) told reporters at a regular briefing yesterday, adding that there is currently no specific information on the deal to disclose.
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