Beijing (AFP)

Anxious to limit the impact of the trade war on its economy, China announced Wednesday the cancellation of customs surcharges on 16 categories of products imported from the United States, before further negotiations scheduled for October in Washington.

Beijing is seeking to relieve pressure on Chinese manufacturers and professionals, who routinely complain about the additional costs of punitive tariffs on their imports of US goods.

The exemptions will be effective from September 17, 2019 to September 16, 2020: they range from pesticides to lubricants, to certain pharmaceuticals and fish food, the Chinese Government's Tariff Commission announced.

China and the United States have been engaged in a trade war since 2018, resulting in the mutual imposition of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of bilateral trade.

Beijing had begun in May to receive applications for the lifting of customs surcharges on Made in the USA.

The tariff exemption list announced on Wednesday is the first to be published since last year's application of 25% surcharges on a series of imported US products.

- Alfalfa and fats -

Among the 16 categories of products concerned also include more confidential or technical goods, such as alfalfa granules, linear accelerators (used in medicine) or fats (used in mechanics).

The measure may be interpreted as a slight sign of relief in the direction of US President Donald Trump, although punitive tariffs will continue to apply on major US-made agricultural products - including soy and pork.

Despite tensions, China and the United States maintain dialogue. Negotiators from both countries will meet in early October in Washington for high-level negotiations face-to-face, the first for months.

The two countries were on the verge of signing a trade deal in early May when talks stalled, with the Trump administration accusing Beijing of backing off its commitments.

Tensions have since intensified with the entry into force of reciprocal tariffs reinforced by successive waves, the latest of which was on 1 September.

- 'On time' -

By the end of the year, Donald Trump plans to overtax almost all imports from China - some $ 540 billion based on 2018 imports.

Economists warn of the trade war that slows global growth. The IMF has also recently underlined the impact on the Chinese economy.

Facing Washington, Beijing has so far tried to support where it hurts: targeting agricultural products and manufactured from US states that voted for Donald Trump.

With the prospect of new tariffs decided by Donald Trump, China should not rush to lift its surcharges on soy, pork and US automobiles. However, she said Wednesday that other lists of products with exemptions could be announced "in a timely manner".

© 2019 AFP