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This Friday, December 6, China announces to remove " some " taxes on US imports of soy and pork while the two countries are still in customs negotiations and that the tension was raised following different US positions on Hong Kong and Uighurs .
The hot and cold continue to blow between Beijing and Washington. While the previous weeks saw a renewed tension between the two powers that threatens each other further tariff increases on their imports. China seems this Friday, December 6 want to send the United States a sign of appeasement.
Beijing has announced on Friday that it exempts from customs duties " some " imports of pork and soybeans American. An announcement that comes in full discussion between the two powers that still fail to put an end to the trade dispute between them.
Negotiators in both countries are still trying to find a partial trade deal that would allow China to increase its purchases of US agricultural products. In return, Washington would waive the introduction of new customs duties of 10% on Chinese electronic products, including mobile phones, scheduled for December 15.
Pig fever in China
Beijing did not wait for this agreement to exempt some US pork and soybean imports from customs duties. Is it really a desire for appeasement or is it the expression of a need for Beijing to supply its domestic market?
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork. Since August 2018, her flocks have been decimated by the swine fever virus , forcing her to import significant quantities of pork.
Since the beginning of the trade war between the two great powers, tariffs on American pork have increased from 12% to 72%. Same for soy, China is the world's largest consumer of this commodity. In one year, US soybean tariffs increased from 3% to 33%.