China said Friday that it would temporarily suspend a 25 percent tariff on U.S.-made autos and a 5 percent one on auto parts starting next year. The statement confirmed a claim made earlier Friday by President Trump that China was rolling back the levy.
China’s Ministry of Finance made the announcement in a post on its website, saying it was following up on an agreement made by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Dec. 1 to de-escalate their trade war.
“In order to implement the consensus of the two heads of state … the State Council Customs Tariff Commission decided to suspend the car and parts (tariffs) originating in the United States,” the statement said. It said the tariff is suspended until March 31 and involves 211 tax items.
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted, “China just announced that their economy is growing much slower than anticipated because of our Trade War with them. They have just suspended U.S. Tariff Hikes.”
Trump similarly halted a planned increase in tariffs on China goods following the Dec. 1 summit. The White House has said that a deal must be done by March or else it would go ahead with raising the tariffs, which would result in 25 percent levies on $200 billion Chinese goods, up from their current levy of 10 percent.
