China urges US to ‘immediately’ lift all tariffs on Chinese goods By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States should immediately raise all tariffs on Chinese goods, China’s Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, ahead of an announcement by the Biden administration on expected tariff increases on Chinese-made products, including electric vehicles.

The US is expected to make a final decision in the coming days after delaying the decision twice as it continued to review proposed changes to tariffs on Chinese goods imposed under former President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

Initially, the higher tariffs of 100% on electric vehicles, 50% on semiconductors and solar cells and 25% on lithium-ion batteries and key minerals, steel and aluminium, ship-to-shore cranes and syringes were due to take effect in August . 1.

But the Office of the US Trade Representative delayed implementation on July 30, saying it needed more time to study more than 1,100 public comments from the industry. It set a new deadline of August 31, which was further pushed back by another postponement.

The latest delay came after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held several days of talks in Beijing, including a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both sides stressed the need to manage the U.S.- China.

The imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods “adds insult to injury,” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yongqian told a regular news conference Thursday.

“China has made solemn declarations to the United States on the 301 tariff issue many times.”

A China-US trade and commerce working group is set to hold a second meeting in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on September 7. The first took place in April.

The two sides are expected to hold in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, including their concerns on economic and trade policies.