It gets worse. From the Wall St. Journal. China, it appears, will be unable to implement the tariff agreement with the US.
Excuse the formatting.
China Set to Halve Its Tariffs On $75 Billion of U.S. Imports
BY LINGLING WEI
BEIJING—China said Thurs- day that it will slash tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports by half as part of an effort to im- plement the recently signed trade deal with Washington.
China’s Ministry of Finance said that starting Feb. 14, 10% tariffs on some U.S. goods would be cut to 5%, while other goods that have faced 5% levies will have those re- duced to 2.5%.
Those tariffs were imposed in September and December during a trade fight between the world’s two largest econo- mies.
The tariff reduction comes amid growth doubt over Bei- jing’s resolve and ability to carry out the phase-one agree- ment, in which China has
pledged to boost its purchases of American merchandise and services by $200 billion over two years.
A new viral outbreak that started in China in late Janu- ary and has spread to more than a dozen countries has caused a near-standstill in economic activity in the coun- try. Chinese authorities have put many parts of the country on lockdown to contain the outbreak.
Even before the outbreak, many economists and ana- lysts have cast doubt over Beijing’s ability to meet the purchasing targets, involving products including soybeans, poultry, oil and gas and man- ufactured goods.
Now, the weakening Chi- nese economy in the face of the virus could make it more
difficult for Beijing to carry out all the pledges.
But the tariff decision an- nounced by China Thursday indicates that the Chinese leadership remains intent on implementing the deal that has helped halt the nearly two-year trade war between the two nations.
“China hopes that both par- ties can abide by the agree- ment, strive to implement the relevant content of the agree- ment, strengthen market con- fidence, promote the develop- ment of bilateral economic and trade relations, and pro- mote world economic growth,” the statement issued by the Finance Ministry said.
The products covered by the tariff decision include auto parts, agricultural products, chemicals and crude oil.
The biggest section of the phase-one deal covers Chinese pledges to increase U.S. im- ports. Beijing agreed to buy an additional $200 billion in goods, with the deal calling for $77 billion in additional trade in 2020 and $123 billion in 2021.
Across the two years, the targets call for China to boost its purchasing above the levels seen in 2017 by about $78 bil- lion in manufacturing, $32 bil- lion in agriculture, $52 billion in energy and $38 billion of services. In 2017, the U.S. ex- ported $186 billion of goods and services. To fulfill the tar- gets in the deal, U.S. exports to China would need to climb to $263 billion in 2020 and $309 billion in 2021, an in- crease without precedent in the history of U.S. trade.
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