China extends suspension of 24% tariff on US goods for one year

China said on November 5 it would extend the suspension of an additional 24 per cent tariff on United States goods for one year, keeping a 10 per cent blanket tariff in place.

A statement published on the Ministry of Finance website, citing Beijing's State Council, said that “for one year the 24 per cent tariff on US goods will continue to be suspended, (and) a 10 per cent tariff on US goods will remain,” Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The suspension, effective from November 10, follows “the consensus reached in the China-US economic and trade consultations,” the statement added.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump held talks in South Korea last month that effectively extended a delicate truce for a year, after several rounds of trade discussions in recent months.

Trump, on November 4, formalised an agreement that Washington would cut its additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, also effective November 10.

Temperatures have spiked between the world’s two largest economies this year as Washington and Beijing imposed escalating tariffs on each other’s products. At one point, duties on both sides reached prohibitive triple-digit levels, hampering trade.

Both countries have been engaged in an uneasy truce since top economic officials met repeatedly for talks amid rising tensions over export controls and other trade issues.

In a separate statement, China said it would lift tariffs of up to 15 per cent on some US agricultural products, including soybeans.

By Aghakazim Guliyev