China slashes tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods including soybeans and cars - Business Insider

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• China on Thursday announced it would reduce tariffs on thousands of American products.
• The move signaled intentions to implement an interim trade agreement with the US as a costly virus epidemic escalated.
• Retaliatory tariffs will be reduced on $75 billion worth of US products including soybeans, oil and automobiles beginning February 14.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

China on Thursday announced it would reduce tariffs on thousands of American products, signaling intentions to implement an interim trade agreement with the US as a costly virus epidemic escalated.

Retaliatory tariffs will be reduced on $75 billion worth of US products including soybeans, oil and automobiles beginning February 14, China’s finance ministry said. Some of those imports will face tariffs of between 2.5% and 5% under the change, as opposed to the 5% to 10% rates that were imposed in September and December.

„The next steps depend on the development of the Chinese-US economic and trade situation,“ tbe finance ministry said in a statement. „We hope to work with the United States toward the final elimination of all tariff increases.“

China was widely expected to reciprocate after the Trump administration agreed in January to reduce tariffs on $120 billion worth of its imports as part of a truce in a nearly two-year-long trade dispute.

The move came as officials grappled with the outbreak of a novel coronavirus that has killed at least 563 in China and sickened thousands more globally. The rapid spread has brought the second-largest economy to a near-standstill, casting doubts on its ability to meet US demands.

China agreed to tighten its intellectual property rules and purchase $200 billion worth of US products over two years under the phase-one trade agreement, ambitious stipulations that had already been questioned by experts.

Tariffs remain on thousands of other products from the US and China, which plan to continue negotiations toward a broader economic agreement in the coming months.

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2020-02-06 15:31:42Z
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