China is calling on the United States to undo the increase of tariffs on Chinese goods amid soaring inflation, saying it would meet the interests of both countries, Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2022) China is calling on the United States to undo the increase of tariffs on Chinese goods amid soaring inflation, saying it would meet the interests of both countries, Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday.
"In the current situation of high inflation, canceling increased tariffs on Chinese goods meets the fundamental interests of US consumers and companies," Gao told a briefing.
The spokesman added that Washington's policy of unilateral tariff hikes benefits neither their countries nor the world in general.
In 2018, the US hiked duties on certain Chinese imports in a bid to balance trade deficit. Both countries exchanged several rounds of reciprocal tariffs the following year.
In January 2020, the Trump administration and the Chinese government made a two-year trade deal known as "Phase One," under which the US retained 25% duties on Chinese goods worth about $250 billion per year, and 7.5% duties on goods worth $120 billion, while China committed to purchasing $75 billion worth of US industrial goods, $50 billion worth of energy, $40 billion worth of agricultural products and up to $40 billion in services.
In December 2021, China said it made efforts to fulfill the deal despite the pandemic and expressed the hope that the US would also make efforts on its end to continue developing bilateral trade.
