China todrop tariffs
BEIJING - China will lower tariffs on products ranging from frozen pork and avocado to some types of semiconductors next year as Beijing looks to boost imports amid a slowing economy and a trade war with the United States.
Next year,
China will implement temporary import tariffs, which are lower than the most-favoured-nation tariffs, on more than 850 products, the finance ministry said on Monday. That compared with 706 products that were taxed at temporary rates in 2019.
The tariff changes were made to “increase imports of products facing a relative domestic shortage, or foreign speciality goods for everyday consumption,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
China and the United States cooled their drawnout trade war earlier this month, announcing a Phase 1 agreement that would reduce some US tariffs in exchange for more Chinese purchases of American farm products and other goods.
The finance ministry said the tariff rate for frozen pork will be cut to 8 per cent from the mostfavoured-nation duty of 12 per cent, as China copes to plug a huge supply gap after a severe pig disease decimated its hog herd.
However, meat industry representatives in the United States said the measure did not appear to affect the retaliatory tariffs in place for US pork. The tariffs on US pork are currently up to 72 per cent.
“US pork will remain at a significant disadvantage compared to competing products until China’s retaliatory duties are addressed,” the US Meat Export Federation said in a statement.