China Lifts Tariffs on Some U.S. Goods in Modest Olive Branch to Trump

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“China suspends Tariffs on some U.S. products,” he wrote. “Being hit very hard, supply chains breaking up as many companies move, or look to move, to other countries. Much more expensive to China than originally thought.”

Negotiators for the two countries hope to reach a relatively modest deal in the coming weeks that would have China buy more American farm products in exchange for the United States lifting some restrictions on the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Such an agreement could help lay the groundwork for a broader deal.

Trade talks broke down in May, and a short time later the White House put Huawei on a blacklist that would block its access to microchips and other critical technology made by American companies. Since then, China and the United States have traded barbs and put tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods.

The finance ministry’s announcement coincided with a visit to Beijing by American business executives who are meeting with senior Chinese government officials in hopes of fostering a dialogue on the topic of trade. American firms that operate on both sides of the Pacific are increasingly uneasy about the state of relations between the two countries.

Some technology companies have expressed frustration over the Trump administration’s decision to thrust Huawei into the trade dispute. Companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft are examining their businesses in an effort to understand the scope of the blacklist. Systems made by Google and Microsoft, for example, are used in Huawei phones around the world.

Only Microsoft has defended Huawei publicly.

“To tell a tech company that it can sell products, but not buy an operating system or chips, is like telling a hotel company that it can open its doors, but not put beds in its hotel rooms or food in its restaurant,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, told Bloomberg in an interview, referring to the restrictions on Huawei.

“Either way,” he added, “you put the survival of that company at risk.”

On Wednesday, the American executives met with Premier Li Keqiang for more than an hour, according to Myron Brilliant, the executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which organized the visit with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.



Source : Nytimes