General

Three months ago, U.S. President Biden made a high-profile statement that he was considering canceling some of the tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese imports to the U.S. in order to ease soaring domestic inflation in the United States. However, after Pelosi came to power and China imposed countermeasures against the United States, the Biden administration intends to reconsider the issue of tariffs on China. Recently, U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo said in an interview with U.S. media that Pelosi's presence on stage "made the situation particularly complicated" and that Biden is now "cautious" about the issue of tariffs on China. In the original plan, in order to alleviate the high domestic inflation level, the Biden administration has been considering canceling some tariffs on China to ease the pressure. Before Pelosi's visit, the policy of eliminating tariffs on US$370 billion of Chinese exports was being prepared initially. Implemented, the preliminary policy covers about $10 billion worth of goods.

Tariffs are getting complicated

U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo said tensions over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan had made the issue of "reducing tariffs on some Chinese imports to the U.S." "particularly complicated." Raimondo noted that Pelosi's actions made things more challenging. She said she hopes to overcome the current difficulties and step back to a place where more discussions can take place. She also revealed that Biden is considering the matter, and they have recently discussed the issue. Raimondo thinks Biden will make a decision soon, without long delays. But Reuters, citing exclusive sources, said the Biden administration is actually planning to put the matter on hold for now. Affected by Pelosi's departure, they do not want to make any moves to escalate the situation now, but at the same time they do not want to show concessions. But the White House still did not acknowledge this claim, White House spokesman Saloni Sharma said: "The president has not made a decision. Nothing has been put on hold or put on hold, all options are on the table. The person making the decision is the president, and he will make the decision based on our interests."

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: There is no winner in a trade war. It is good for the United States, China and the world to cancel tariffs as soon as possible by the United States. Moreover, under the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, the right and wrong between China and the United States is very clear, and the United States should not It is hoped that the Chinese side will make deals with core interests, but should return to the political basis of Sino-US relations!

Detailed rules of the specific tariff list

It is understood that the current tariffs on three batches of goods, including the original $34 billion (list 1), $16 billion (list 2), and $200 billion (list 3), will expire in the second half of this year, while the original $120 billion The tariffs on US dollar (List 4) batches of goods will expire in September next year. If the cancellation of additional tariffs can be successfully implemented, the competitiveness of my country's export commodities is expected to increase, and the growth rate of exports to the United States will be boosted.

Since the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese exports included in List 1 in 2018, the growth rate of China’s exports to the U.S. has experienced a significant decline. It was not until the outbreak of the new crown epidemic that my country’s export growth rate to the U.S. gradually recovered to the level of trade disputes. previous level. If the cancellation of additional tariffs can be successfully implemented, the competitiveness of my country's export commodities is expected to improve, and the growth rate of exports to the United States is likely to be boosted. Judging from the chronological order of the cancellation of the additional tariffs, the mechanical and electrical industries may benefit first. If all the additional tariffs expire, Lists 1 and 2, which expire in recent months, will push the actual tariff rate down by about 2.6 percentage points. The list 3, which will expire at the end of September, has the most extensive impact. Except for the textile and clothing industry, the cancellation of the additional tariffs on List 3 may drive the actual tariff rate of various industries to drop by more than 5 percentage points. The impact of tariffs on List 4, which will expire in September next year, is mainly concentrated in the textile and apparel industry.