China has announced the suspension of additional tariffs scheduled to be imposed on some US products, including corn, cars and auto parts, after agreeing to a phase 1 trade deal.
In a statement released on Sunday on its website, the State Council's Customs Tariff Commission in China suspended additional tariffs set to be implemented on some US items, including corn and US-made cars and auto parts. The announcement was made two days after China and the US agreed to a phase 1 trade deal.
The phase 1 agreement halted the additional tariffs scheduled to be imposed by the US on approximately $160 billion worth of Chinese consumer electronics and toys. Under the agreement, existing tariff rates will be reduced in exchange for Chinese purchases of US farm goods and other products.
Details of the so-called phase one of the deal have already been announced by both countries two months ago but they have been unable to agree on specific items.
Stephen Innes, a market strategist for Asia Pacific at Axi Trader, claimed that the next phase of the trade talks could be "even trickier" as there remains significant points of tension between the two countries.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that condemns the “arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment” of Uighur Muslims in China. The House bill, called the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act 2019, calls for “targeted sanctions” on members of the Chinese government, including Communist Party secretary in the Xinjiang autonomous region, Chen Quanguo.
The bill’s passage comes just days following President Trump’s decision to sign into law a bill that supports pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, which also angered China.
While both sides will be working immediately on a more comprehensive phase 2 trade deal, the US Trade Representative stated on Friday said the country would maintain the 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods in the mean time.
