By Yashasvini Razdan
On Thursday, China announced that it is extending the fifth tariff exemption for 81 products imported from the United States. The exemptions will continue for an additional seven months.
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that the tariff exemption would start on Friday and continue until April 16, 2022.
The ministry intends to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by top leaders of China and the U.S. earlier over the phone. China routinely initiates these extensions to cool down the boiling trade war between the two nations.
The finance ministry's spokesperson, Shu Jueting, spoke at a media conference about the latest trade development between China and the U.S. She said that trade teams from both countries have maintained communications.
The extended exemptions include items such as shrimp and electric vehicle batteries. Without this announcement, the tarrifs were due to expire on Thursday.
U.S. goods were allowed these exemptions for the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China as a countermeasure to U.S. Section 301 action, the ministry said.
The finance ministry said that unilateral trade protectionism is neither good for the two countries nor for the world's economic recovery. The ministry put forward this observation in response to a media report about the Biden administration discussing launching a probe into Chinese subsidies under Section 301 of the U.S. trade law.
The last tariff extension granted by China was announced in May 2021 on products including gold ore and rare earth metal ore.
Picture Credits: AFP
With inputs from Reuters