On May 9, 2019, the
U.S. government announced that the tariff rate imposed
on the $200 billion list of goods imported from China would
be increased to 25% from 10% since May 10, 2019.
This wave of tariffs came because China back peddled
on an item that was previously agreed to during the ongoing
trade negotiations.
The Chinese government reacted by imposing counter tariffs
on $60 billion of U.S. products from 5% and 10% to 25%.
The higher duties are scheduled to take effect June 1
Chinese tariffs will impact about 5,000 U.S. made products,
including beef, fruit, vegetables, coats, refrigerators,
furniture aircraft and electric saws.
For the list of products impacted by China’s tariffs
see Appendix 2 – Schedule of tariffs on U.S. agricultural
products [page 6]
U.S. tariffs on Chinese products will affect clothes dryers,
seafood, carpet, shampoo, hammers, and even gift wrap and
dog leashes.
Here is a quick
breakdown of the tariff imposition timeline:
-July 6, 2018: U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on $34 billion of
imports of Chinese goods, and China immediately retaliated
with tariffs on U.S. exports in the same amount.
-August 23, 2018: U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on an additional
$16 billion of imports Chinese goods, and China immediately
retaliated with tariffs on U.S. exports in the same amount.
-September 24, 2018: U.S. imposed tariffs on approximately
$200 billion worth of Chinese goods, including many everyday
consumer products like electronics and housewares. China
again retaliated with tariffs on another $60 billion of
American-made products.
-May 10, 2019: U.S. increased tariffs on approximately $200
billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%.
Coming in May 2019: The U.S. is proposing to levy tariffs of
25% on all goods imports from China not yet subjected to
Section 301 tariffs (valued at approximately $325 billion).
The aim of the trade negotiations is to get China to
agree to stop stealing intellectual properties from U.S.
companies, stop forcing technology transfers, open their
markets and give U.S. companies the same access to their
markets that Chinese companies have to U.S. markets, remove
all tariffs and play by the rules.
For multinational corporations, farmers and chemical
manufacturers China represents a lucrative market and hence
they will mostly be impacted by the tariffs.
However, many businesses have begun to look elsewhere
for suppliers and manufacturers for their products and to
find other markets to expand to.
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