China has announced this afternoon that from 1 January will reduce applied tariffs to 850 products, which are counted from frozen pork and avocados to semiconductor chips. This measure is the implementation of one of the points included in the first phase of the agreement with the united States, reached two weeks ago, by means of which the two powers seek to put an end to the trade war that already lasts for more than a year and a half.
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The text was envisaged that both countries would eliminate gradually the tariffs that are exchanged, something “fundamental” to the chinese side, as indicated by Wang Shouwen, deputy minister of Trade; although it had not been established by a calendar or figures for this withdrawal. With today’s announcement, China has a first step in this direction, which shows their readiness to comply with his part of the deal, according to which they should increase their imports of agricultural products and pharmaceuticals from the united States.
In the statement, made public today by the ministry of Finance, however, made no reference to this issue. The document is limited to disclose a “readjustment” of the “import tariffs temporarily” lower than the ordinary, to more than 850 products. A decision taken, in agreement with the text, “to increase imports of products that face a relative shortage national, or specialty foreign to the daily consumption”.
This is the case of the pork, a pillar of the power of china. The explosion of the swine fever has decimated the herds and national has been forced to sacrifice about half of the heads of cattle –a quarter of the pigs in the world. The plague has skyrocketed the price of the meat of the animal, which is appreciated since then by nearly 50%, to the point that it has forced the government to unlock the “strategic reserve of pork”, stored in freezers around the country. “Ensure the supply [of pork] concerns the mode of life of the people and the overall situation”, he stated at that time the deputy prime minister, Hu Chunhua; something particularly true given the close proximity of the chinese new year celebration that will take place on the 25th of January and for which the pork is a bite fundamental.
China has achieved, in this way, kill two birds with one stone. With a single maneuver facilitating the import of necessary goods and shows a willingness to move to the next phase of the agreement with the united States, which will need to be addressed resolution issues more complicated, as the protectionism of the economic system of chinese infringements of intellectual property or the future of the technology Huawei on american soil. In any case, Xinhua, the national agency of news, nor was mention of the conflict in his article, which is limited to list the countries benefited by the measure announced today. The note concluded: “The adjustments will help to reduce import costs, bringing the opening to a higher level and allow other countries and regions to share the development of China”.
