Beijing is calling on Washington to “completely cancel” mutual tariffs amid the escalation of the trade war.
China has welcomed the US’s announcement of a series of exemptions from import taxation on household appliances. He said this is a “small step” to correct President Donald Trump’s “false practice” of imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese products.
“China is currently assessing the impact,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement Sunday after Washington said smartphones, computers and other electronic devices would be excluded.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said on Sunday this week that smartphones, computers and other electronics were based on separate tariffs, along with semiconductors imposed over a month or so.
Beijing called on Washington to “completely cancel” its mutual tariffs. “We urge … to take a big step to correct mistakes, cancel the false practices of “mutual tariffs” completely and return to the right path of mutual respect,” the Commerce Ministry’s statement said.
The Trump administration later on Friday granted exemption from sudden tariffs on electronic devices mainly imported from China, offering a major break for high-tech companies like Apple that rely on imported products.
The move comes as a retaliatory 125% Chinese import duties on US goods came into effect on Saturday, and Beijing rebelliously stood up against its major trading competitors.
The escalating tariff battle between Washington and Beijing sparked fears of a lasting trade war between the two largest economies of the world, sending the world market to the tailspin.
The fallout sent shockwaves through the US economy, with investors abandoning government bonds and dollars falling.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on CBS Sunday that Trump has no plans to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping yet.
Trump on his true social platform on Friday claimed that “we’re really good at tariff policy” even after Beijing announced its latest hike.
Trump calls tariffs a way to return to the US, but analysts say it will likely take years to increase domestic production.
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