Trump says China agrees to remove some tariffs
China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs below the 40 percent level that Beijing is currently charging on U.S.-made vehicles,
This is according to U.S. President Donald Trump said, as a trade war truce between the two countries gathers pace, cheering markets.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to hold off on new tariffs during talks in Argentina on Saturday, declaring a truce following months of escalating tensions on trade and other issues.
In a meeting lasting two and a half hours, the United States agreed not to raise tariffs further on Jan. 1, while China agreed to purchase more agricultural products from U.S. farmers immediately.
Trump tweets China to cut tax on U.S.-made cars, revs up auto stocks
But the White House also said the existing 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted to 25 percent if no deal was reached within 90 days, once again setting the clock ticking.
Tweeting on Sunday night, Trump said: “China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40%”. He gave no details.
Chinese regulators did not respond to requests for comment on what would be a potential boon for automakers including Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and BMW (BMWG.DE) which manufacture in the United States for export to China..
Neither country had mentioned auto tariffs in their official read-outs of the Trump-Xi meeting.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated comments from the government’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi who said on Saturday the ultimate goal was the lifting of all tariffs.
“The consensus reached by the leaders of our two countries is to halt the imposition of new tariffs and at the same time the two sides’ leaders instructed the economics teams of both sides to intensify talks towards the removal of all tariffs that have been imposed,” Geng told a daily news briefing.
Chinese shares, commodities and the yuan currency surged even as uncertainty remained about the deal.
Published: by Radio NewsHub