US Gives Chinese Imports More Time Before More Tariffs Hit

Shipping containers are seen at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 8, 2018. (China Out/Reuters)

WASHINGTON—U.S. officials officially granted Chinese exporters two more weeks to get their products into the United States before increasing tariffs on those items, according to a U.S. government notice posted online on June 7.

The United States Trade Representative had earlier announced the planned move on May 31.

In the official notice published in the Federal Register on Friday, USTR said it was extending the deadline from June 1 to June 15 for certain products to enter the United States without being subject to an additional 25 percent tariff.

The Trump administration had raised its 10 percent levy on Chinese imports to 25 percent as it sought to pressure Beijing to strike a larger trade deal, although an agreement still remains to be reached.

In its notice on Friday, the USTR said affected Chinese companies with products exported to the United States before May 10—which would have faced the additional duty on products on June 1—now have until mid-month to get their goods in to avoid the increase.

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated since trade talks broke down in early May.

On May 10, the U.S. administration increased tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on a $200 billion list of Chinese goods, after accusing the Chinese regime of backtracking on commitments negotiated over months of trade talks. The regime responded with a tariff hike on $60 billion of U.S. goods.

Shortly after, the United States placed an export ban on Chinese telecom giant Huawei, preventing it from doing business with American firms on national security grounds. In apparent retaliation, the regime said last week that it would establish its own “unreliable entities list” of foreign companies, persons, and organizations that have harmed Chinese firms’ interests, without providing further detail on the entities to be included or the punishments imposed.

By Susan Heavey. Epoch Times reporter Cathy He contributed to this report.