Tariff war: China commerce ministry says trade talks with US coming soon

By: |
Published: August 20, 2020 5:34 PM

Under the Phase 1 trade agreement signed in January, both governments agreed to suspend potential additional penalties on each other's goods in a fight that erupted in 2018 over Beijing's technology ambitions and trade surplus.

The truce called for talks to be held after six months, but those were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.The truce called for talks to be held after six months, but those were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Representative image)

Chinese and US trade envoys will hold a meeting by phone in the near future to discuss an agreement aimed at resolving a tariff war, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The spokesman, Gao Feng, gave no details of the timing at a ministry news briefing.

Under the Phase 1 trade agreement signed in January, both governments agreed to suspend potential additional penalties on each other’s goods in a fight that erupted in 2018 over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus.

The truce called for talks to be held after six months, but those were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. A meeting scheduled for last week was to be held online but was postponed.

Both parties have agreed to hold a call in the near future, Gao said.

The two governments have rolled back some penalties but most of the punitive tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s goods remain in place.

Do you know What is Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Finance Bill, Fiscal Policy in India, Expenditure Budget, Customs Duty? FE Knowledge Desk explains each of these and more in detail at Financial Express Explained. Also get Live BSE/NSE Stock Prices, latest NAV of Mutual Funds, Best equity funds, Top Gainers, Top Losers on Financial Express. Don’t forget to try our free Income Tax Calculator tool.

Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.

Next Stories
1Retail inflation for farm, rural workers drops in July
2Joblessness in India surges back in August so far; unemployment rate crosses 9%
3Loan for farmers via Kisan Credit Cards as govt looks to revive agri sector amid COVID-19