Beijing is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports, as the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war weigh heavily on certain industries.
Authorities are considering removing the additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane. Officials are also discussing waiving the tariff for plane leases.
Like many airlines, Chinese carriers don’t own all of their aircraft and pay leasing fees to third-party companies to use some jets — payments that would have become financially ruinous with the additional tariff.
China is the world’s largest plastics manufacturer, but some of its factories depend on ethane, which is mainly imported from the US.
And its hospitals rely on advanced medical equipment like MRI and ultrasound machines made by US firms like GE Healthcare.
The list of exemptions is still in flux and discussions may not progress.
Companies in vulnerable sectors have been asked by authorities to submit the customs codes of US goods that they need to be exempt from the new tariffs.
At least one Chinese airline has been notified that payments to aircraft leasing companies located in free trade zones will not be subject to the new levy.
Traders have also been circulating purportedly tariff-exempt lists of customs codes that correlate to key chemicals and chip-making components.
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Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
According to this unverified report, enterprises in China have received notices from Customs in Kunshan, Zhongshan and Shenzhen that chips from the US with HS codes 854231 (processors and controllers), 854233 (amplifiers) and 854239 (others excluding processors, controllers,
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