China also said it would suspend its 5% tariff on 67 other auto parts.
China imposed the additional tariffs on US cars in July and on some auto parts in September as part of its retaliation in the trade war between the two countries.
In its statement Friday, the Finance Ministry described the decision to remove the tariffs as a “concrete action” aimed at helping to bring about a “mutually beneficial new Sino-US trade order.”
Xi pledged in April that China would cut tariffs on imported cars this year. His government delivered on that promise in July, reducing import taxes from 25% to 15%.
But just days later, China imposed new additional tariffs of 25% on American-made passenger vehicles as the trade war with the United States escalated.
Yet China’s tariffs have hurt exports from US auto plants. The value of US passenger car exports to China has fallen by $2.4 billion, or 30%, over the course of the first nine months of the year.
Part of that could be because of slowing Chinese auto sales. Yet overall sales of American cars in China -— including those made in China — are down only about 1% so far this year.
In a statement on Friday, Ford said it was “very encouraged by China’s announcement.” “We applaud both governments for working together constructively to reduce trade barriers and open markets.”
Eric Cheung and David Goldman contributed to this report.
Source : Nbcnewyork