China will extend tariff exemptions reserved for 79 products imported from the United States that were due to expire on May 18, the finance ministry said in a notice published on Monday.
The products include rare earth ore, gold ore, and silver ore and concentrate. The exemptions will be extended until December 25, it said.
The products originally received exemptions from retaliatory tariffs China had imposed on US goods as counter-measures to US Section 301 actions.
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Former President Donald Trump started the controversial trade war with China three years ago, imposing tariffs on roughly $350 billion of Chinese-made goods. And despite the change in administration, those duties remain in place.
The US still has tariffs on 66% of Chinese exports – the average rate is 19%, more than six times higher than before the trade war began in 2018.
The taxes have raised the price for items such as baseball hats, luggage, bicycles, TVs, sneakers and a variety of materials used by American manufacturers.
IMPORTERS COSTS
But China has put tariffs on American-made goods as well and about 58% of US exports to China are affected, at an average rate of 21%.
The tariffs on Chinese-made goods have cost American importers more than $82 billion so far, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
A report from Moody’s Analytics found that the tariffs cost 300,000 jobs and 0.3 percentage points in US GDP during the first year they were in effect.
- With reporting by Reuters
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