China announces to exempt tariffs on aluminium scrap and other products imported from US

China, on Tuesday, February 18, announced that it would accept applications for new tariff exemptions on aluminium and other metal scraps, besides 696 other products imported from the United States. Those products include some key agricultural and energy items and also denatured ethanol, wheat, corn, and sorghum.

Firms seeking exemptions on the tariffs can submit applications from March 1, said the finance ministry, adding that the exemptions granted would be valid for one year.

These exemptions are the third and most substantial set to be granted to date by China since the start of the trade dispute with the United States. According to the report, the primary purpose of waiving the tariffs by China is to achieve the purchase deal of $200 billion worth US products, as agreed and signed in the Phase One Trade Deal.

The decision of exemptions has come amid a coronavirus epidemic that has taken a toll on the world’s second-largest economy. Many US officials and analysts have even raised questions about China’s ability to meet the $200 billion worth of products purchasing commitments.

The virus outbreak has reduced the operating rates at factories due to drastically reduced staffing.