China to resume tariff hikes on U.S. auto imports from Dec. 15

China will resume imposing additional tariffs of 25 percent or 5 percent on American-made vehicles and auto parts starting from 12:01 p.m. on Dec. 15, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced Friday.

Cars move along an assembly line at the General Motors Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan, on Jan. 28, 2013. [File Photo: AP via IC]

An exemption from the additional tariffs could be applied for, and detailed policies on such applications will be released separately, the commission said.

China hopes the United States will continue to follow the consensuses reached by the two heads of state in Argentina and Osaka, return to the right track of settling disputes through negotiations, work with China and make concrete efforts toward the goal of terminating the economic and trade frictions, the commission said.

On May 10, the United States increased the additional tariffs imposed on 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent. On Aug. 15, it announced it would impose an additional 10-percent tariff on about 300 billion dollars of Chinese imports starting from Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, respectively.

The U.S. moves had led to the continuous escalation of the economic and trade frictions between the two countries, and went against the consensuses reached by the two heads of state in Argentina and Osaka, the commission said.

To implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Argentina, China suspended the additional tariffs on American-made vehicles and auto parts for three months starting Jan. 1 this year. On March 31, the country announced it would extend the suspension until further notice.