US-China trade war: Suits, skirts sugar tariffs reduced by US
US has kept levies on $375 billion in Chinese goods
Live pigs and poultry, men's suits and cheddar cheese are among the Chinese imports on which the U.S. has lowered tariffs under a phase one trade deal the Trump administration reached with Beijing.
The goods are identified in a list of items released by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office whose duties will be halved to 7.5 percent at 12:01 a.m. ET on Feb. 14. Other affected items the include:
- Pig fat
- Dairy products (Gouda, milk, sour cream, butter)
- Chickpeas, plums, pepper, corn, cane sugar, cocoa powder
- Clothing (Boy’s suits and overcoats, women’s jackets and skirts, bibs, sweaters, tracksuits, pantyhose, gloves, scarves)
- Bedlinen and footwear, porcelain goods and glassware, cast iron and aluminum products
- VCRs, sunglasses, cameras, wristwatches
The break for importers is coming less than a month after the Jan. 15 signing of a pact by President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that de-escalated a nearly two-year trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Despite the reductions, the U.S. kept levies on about $375 billion of Chinese merchandise.
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Beijing, meanwhile, agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion of U.S. products, in addition to making reforms on intellectual property protections, forced technology transfers, financial services and currency exchange.
“The China deal is amazing and we'll be starting phase two very soon,” Trump told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. The president said he left the 25 percent tariffs in place on many imports because they're a good negotiating tool and may help with talks on the next phase of a Chinese trade agreement.
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FOX Business’ R.N. White contributed to this report.