China reduced tariffs on USD 75 million (EUR 68.6 million) worth of goods from the U.S., including soybeans and more than 150 seafood items.
The announcement, made 6 February and affecting 1,717 harmonized tariff system (HTS) classification codes, will go into effect 14 February, according to China’s Finance Ministry.
The tax rate on 916 items – including all the seafood items on the list – was cut from 10 percent to 5 percent, while an additional 801 items will see the tariffs they face when entering China reduced from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.
The full list of seafood items affected include live trout, eel, carp, bluefin tuna, and tilapia, as well as frozen salmon trout, tilapiacatfish, carp, eel, bass, tuna, herring, sardines, cobia, swordfish, cod, barramundi, ribbonfish, croaker, shark, lobster, crab, shrimp, crayfish, oysters, cockles, abalone, cuttlefish, and squid, among others.
The tariff on soybeans – a key ingredient in many aquafeeds – will be lowered to 2.5 percent.
In a separate announcement, China’s Finance Ministry said cut in tariffs was timed to coincide with a U.S. decision to reduce tariffs on USD 120 billion (EUR 109.8 million) of Chinese goods from 15 percent to 7.5 percent, according to CNBC.
The move comes as trade relations between China and the U.S. have thawed following the signing of the “Phase One” trade deal in mid-January. Most of the tariffs put in place as the trade war escalated in 2019 remain in place, according to The Associated Press.
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