In a surprising move, China on Wednesday exempted 16 American products from additional tariffs for a period of one year.
The exemption announced by China's Ministry of Finance will take effect this Sept. 17 and will end Sept. 16, 2020.
Analysts see the welcome announcement as a sign of goodwill on China's part ahead of the new round of trade talks meant to either end of mitigating Trump's trade war. The new talks are scheduled for some time in October in Washington D.C.
Since March 2018, China and the U.S. have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods, roiling financial markets and depressing business and consumer sentiment.
The State Council Tariff Commission said the items on two separate tariff exemption lists won't be subject to additional charges imposed by China on U.S. goods.
For products on "List 1," including a fish meal for feed, shrimp and prawn seedlings, and cancer drugs, tariffs already imposed will be refunded. Companies can apply to customs within six months.
For products on "List 2," including whey for feed and lubricating base oil, tariffs were said to be non-refundable.
Here are the two lists in full:
LIST 1:
1. Other shrimp and prawn seedlings.
2. Aster meal and pellets.
3. Other purpura (except coarse powder and pellets).
4. Fish meal for feed.
5. Lubricating oil.
6. Grease.
7. Ring line, insecticidal ring, insecticidal nail, polythene, etc. (including methylthiophosphorus, ibuprofen, aspartate, indoxacarb).
8. Decitabine, fluorouridine, cyclophosphamide, gefitinib, capecitabine, raltitrexed, fludarabine phosphate, fluoride, cytarabine hydrochloride, gemcitabine hydrochloride, ectinib hydrochloride, ifosfamide.
9. Nonionic Organic Surfactant.
10. Mineral oil <70% lubricant.
11. Lubricants containing no petroleum or oils from bituminous minerals.
12. Medical linear accelerator.
LIST 2:
1. Whey for feed (2%-7% by weight protein, 76%-88% lactose).
2. Release agent (oil by weight and oil extracted from bitumen ≥70%).
3. Isoparaffin solvent (early boiling point 225 ° C, flash point 92 ° C, density 0.79 g / cm3, viscosity 3.57mm2/s).
4. Lubricating base oil (product viscosity at 100 degrees Celsius).
President Donald Trump has imposed or announced tariffs on $550 billion of Chinese imports, or most everything the United States imports from China. Tariffs of 25% previously imposed on $250 billion of Chinese goods will be increased to 30% on Oct. 1.
For its part, China has increased duties on $120 billion of U.S. imports. Some $50 billion of U.S. goods are unaffected by China's tariffs, possibly to avoid disrupting Chinese industries.
On Sept. 1, the U.S. imposed 15% tariffs on $112 billion of Chinese imports and will boost levies on another $160 billion Dec. 15. China responded by imposing duties of 10% and 5% on a range of American imports.
