Trump cuts tariffs on imports from China

US President Donald Trump announced that Washington will reduce tariffs on imports from China related to fentanyl from 20% to 10%. This reduces the overall combined tariff rate on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, CNN reports.

The announcement came after Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

US Trade Representative Jamie Greer added that higher tariffs will still apply to certain specific goods.

“For some individual goods, it could reach 100%. But overall, it’s around 45-47%,” he explained.

Beijing, in turn, will make “appropriate adjustments” to its countermeasures in the trade war, including suspending new restrictions on rare earth exports for one year.

Following the summit between the leaders of the two countries, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that the country would suspend its latest export controls on rare earth metals, as well as special port fees targeting US ships. The United States will also suspend its special port fees targeting Chinese ships docking at US ports for one year.

It should be recalled that Canada has proposed lifting tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products imported from the US and China. In this way, the government seeks to help local businesses that have been affected by trade wars. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne explained that this concerns a group of very specific goods that must be imported into the country to support supply chains, and they will not significantly affect the amount of counter-tariffs collected.