Todd Bishop
After the China-US trade war was further escalated, there was a slight sign of cooling. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) said on August 13 that the Trump administration decided to delay the imposition of a 10% tariff on goods imported from China, such as laptops and mobile phones, which was originally implemented on September 1. Postponed to December 15. In addition, some goods categories can be excluded from the tax increase list.
The New York Times described this policy change as the Trump administration faced pressure from business and social groups. The business community and these organizations criticized the China-US trade war for its continued damage.
According to the statement of the Office of the US Trade Representative, it was decided to delay the tariff of 10% on some Chinese goods categories, including mobile phones, laptops, video games, computer screens, toys, shoes and clothing.
Some Chinese goods were directly removed from the tax increase list
The statement also stated that based on health, safety, national security and other factors, some Chinese goods will be directly excluded from the tax increase list, and they will be exempt from the 10% additional tariff.
Not long before the statement was issued, China announced that Vice Premier Liu He would call the US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the evening of August 13. The Chinese side has made solemn representations on the issue that the US intends to impose tariffs on Chinese exports to US goods on September 1. The two parties agreed to call again in the next two weeks.
US President Donald Trump announced on August 1 that he will impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods worth about $300 billion from September 1st, which will escalate the China-US trade war.
