China clarifies tariff hike rate, exemption issues for listed U.S. imports

Imports from the United States that appear more than once on China's tariff hike lists will be subject to the combined tariff rates, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Thursday.

China has launched three rounds of countermeasures to deal with U.S. tariff hikes since July 2018, the commission said in a statement.

A view of the Port of Qingdao, Shandong Province. [File photo: IC]

The country announced the third round of tariff countermeasures on Aug. 23, including imposing additional tariffs on 5,078 U.S. products worth about 75 billion U.S. dollars, to be implemented in two batches at 12:01 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 1 and at 12:01 p.m. on Dec. 15, respectively.

Meanwhile, 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. These products will also be subject to the additional duties of the latest tariff countermeasure.

Products gaining the approval for tariff exemption under the first and the second rounds of countermeasures will be exempt from all rounds of tariff countermeasures against U.S. 301 measures, the statement said.

Products not included in the exemption application lists of the first and second-rounds of countermeasures will be included the exemption application lists of the third-round of countermeasures. The exemption application process will be disclosed later, the statement said.