China exempts a quarter of its imports from the USA from duties, and we are talking about Fentanyl
According to the WSJ also reported by Reuters , Chinese leader Xi Jinping's head of internal security, Wang Xiaohong, has inquired in recent days about what Trump's team wants China to do when it comes to fentanyl.
In a visible change of tone on Friday , China's Ministry of Commerce said it was considering starting talks with the United States to stop a trade war , while expressing Beijing's desire for the Trump administration to "show sincerity" in the dialogue. Previously, the ministry had asked Washington to first reduce its steep tariffs on China as a condition for negotiations.
Change of tone
China has quietly begun exempting some US goods from tariffs that will likely cover about $40 billion in imports (or about 24% of China's imports from the US in 2024) , in what appears to be an effort to soften the trade war's blow on its economy.
“China is likely trying to mitigate the damage to its economy by avoiding a collapse in key imports,” DiPippo said.
“The exemptions should not be interpreted as a signal to the United States, since China has been silent about its exemptions, working through commercial channels and avoiding public statements .”
While this move reflects a shift in the Trump administration – which has exempted smartphones and other electronic products from its own “reciprocal” tariffs, including 145% levies on China (the US exemptions apply to about $102 billion, or roughly 22% of US imports from China last year) – we suspect there is more to this decision.
As we pointed out just a week ago , China's already fragile economy has faced a major crisis due to cuts in US ethane supplies caused by tariffs and the potential closure of plastic factories en masse.
“ The situation is dire for China's ethane crackers, which have no alternatives to US supplies,” said Manish Sejwa l, an analyst at Rystad Energy AS, using an industry term for such plants.
“Unless tariff exemptions are granted, they may be forced to stop production or go out of business.”
It is no coincidence that among the exempted goods there are a series of raw materials from the chemical sector.
Bloomberg reports that it's unclear where the list came from and that it hasn't been officially confirmed, but at least a half-dozen companies in China have been able to bring in products on the list without paying duties, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified due to confidential information.
Regardless of the reason – factory shutdown crises or simple goodwill – there are tentative signs that the US-China trade standoff may be changing.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday it is considering starting trade talks with the United States, giving a boost to stock markets.
“ The United States has recently sent messages to China through relevant parties, hoping to initiate talks with China,” the ministry said in a statement released on a mainland holiday.
“China is currently evaluating the issue.”
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The article China exempts a quarter of imports from the USA from duties, and there is talk of Fentanyl comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-esenta-dai-dazi-un-quarto-dellimport-dagli-usa-e-si-parla-del-fentanyl/ on Sat, 03 May 2025 05:15:11 +0000.