NE Watch Desk/AFP
United States prolonged tariff exclusions
for hundreds of Chinese goods again till May 31 next year, announced America trade
officials on Tuesday.
These are the same 352 Chinese products,
which were once hit by punitive duties and another 77 Covid-related exclusions.
The exemptions had earlier been extended until December 31.
The United States Trade Representative mentioned
the extension will lead to “the orderly sun setting of the exclusions”. They
also pinpointed that there were cases where extra time could be approved to “enable
shifts in sourcing to United States or third world countries”.
The extension move was welcomed by the business
group – Americans for Free Trade – as it would provide “economic relief to
American businesses”. However, it expressed “frustration” over United States
Trade Representative’s lack of notice making it hard for businesses to plan.
The administration of former US
President Donald Trump had imposed original sanctions with tariffs on $370
billion worth of Chinese products, out of concerns related to unfair trade
practices.
However, American trade representative body
set up a process for requesting and granting exclusions from those steps.
Sour relationship between the world’s
two biggest economies have escalated in recent years as both sides fought over
multiple issues ranging from human rights to export controls.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo held
conversations with Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao soon after a summit of American
President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in November,
Gina Raimondo had also pledged more
in-person talks in early 2024.
Washington mentioned the move related export
curbs were taken as a national security measure. Those sanctions also aim at mitigating
China’s access to advanced chips critical to the development of artificial
intelligence or AI tech and cutting-edge weapons.
However, Beijing has declined those
concerns, with Xi Jinping telling Joe Biden in November that such actions hurt
China’s “legitimate interests.”
