China suspends additional tariffs on US-made cars

Voices hope both countries can speed up negotiations to remove all extra tariffs

BEIJING: China will suspend additional tariffs on US-made vehicles and auto parts for three months starting January 1, 2019, the country's finance ministry said on Friday, following a truce in a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement on its website, also said it hopes China and the United States can speed up negotiations to remove all additional tariffs on each other's goods.

"This is a good signal that China and the US are on track to solve the trade war," said China Automobile Dealers Association's Import Committee Director Wang Cun. "Carmakers might be ordering a large number of imported cars now."



Shortly after the Chinese finance ministry's announcement, Tesla Inc said it had cut prices on its Model S and Model X vehicles in China.

Ford Motor Co's Americas Unit President Joe Hinrichs also welcomed China's announcement, noting that the US automaker exported nearly 50,000 US-built vehicles to the country in 2017.

"As a leading exporter of vehicles from the US, we are very encouraged by China's announcement," Hinrichs said. "We applaud both governments for working together constructively to reduce trade barriers and open markets."

Auto exports between the two countries are, however, relatively small. China exported 53,300 vehicles to the US market last year and imported 280,208 US-manufactured vehicles, according to data from the China Automotive Technology and Research Centre, a government-affiliated think-tank.

In contrast, in the first 11 months of this year, China produced 25.3 million cars, down 2.6% from the same period last year, industry figures showed.

Wang said carmakers in China that imported cars from the US had seen a 30% decline in volumes in the first 10 months of 2018, but the tariff cut would bring imports back to previous levels.



The latest announcement on the planned tariff suspension followed China's first major purchase of US soybeans since US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi

Jinping's landmark talks on trade in Argentina on December 1.

The tariff suspension and soybean purchase are early signs that the bitter trade war between China and the US may be starting to thaw.

In Argentina, Trump and Xi agreed to a truce that delayed the planned January 1 US increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods while they negotiate a trade deal.

A Trump administration official said on Tuesday that China had agreed to cut tariffs on US-built cars and auto parts to 15% from 40%.

China's tariff cut was communicated during a phone call between Vice Premier Liu He, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the official said.