China has created a list of products made in the United States that will be exempt from its 125% tariff and quietly informed companies about the policy, two people familiar with the matter said Beijing is trying to mitigate the impact of the trade war with Washington.
Reuters reported last week that China has approved tariff exemptions for specific products, including select pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines, and requires companies to determine whether they need key commodities without taxation. However, there has been no report on the existence of a “whitelist”.
The quiet approach has led Beijing to repeatedly express willingness to fight until the end unless the United States raises its 145% tariff to maintain its public messaging while taking practical steps privately to provide concessions.
The two sources said it was unclear how many and which products were included in the list and which authorities have not shared publicly, and refused to name the information not disclosed.
Instead, authorities are contacting the company privately and working for a drug company that sells U.S.-made drugs in China, sources said the company’s list of existence would be exempt from tariffs.
Sources said the Shanghai Pudong government contacted the company on Monday, adding that the company had previously lobbied for tariff exemptions because it relied on U.S. technology from certain U.S. products.
“We still have a lot of technology from the United States,” the person said.
Canadian low-rapeseed farmers are preparing for an additional turbulent season, existing Chinese tariffs, possible U.S. tariffs and an ongoing trade war between the two largest customers.
Another source said some companies were asked to contact authorities privately to ask whether they are eligible for exemptions for their imported products.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the list of exempted products also appears to be growing: China exempts tariffs on U.S. ethane imports.
Major Ethane processors have been seeking tariff exemptions from Beijing, as the United States is the only supplier.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believes the trade deal with China is coming soon.
“But it will be fair,” he said.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and Customs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Measuring the impact of tariff war
Two other sources said China is also investigating companies to assess the impact of the tariff war.
At a recent meeting, authorities in eastern China asked foreign business lobby groups to “communicate all the critical situations caused by tariff tensions to assess specific cases.”
The person declined to disclose that the authorities held the city where the gathering was not open.
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He said a large portion of Donald Trump’s global tariff regime aims to bid, forcing the country to reach a deal that is beneficial to the United States. Still, Chinese officials have not been overlooked – claiming that tariffs will hurt Americans more than the Chinese, and comparing Donald Trump and Mao’s actions on the “Cultural Revolution”. Chinese officials also responded to Donald Trump’s tariff plan: “If war is what the United States wants, whether it’s a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight until the end.” David Rennie, a columnist for The Economist, who previously served as a Beijing reporter for the magazine. He talks with us about China’s relations and why Chinese officials see Trump as a “revolutionary” figure, one of the greatest moments of opportunity in modern Chinese history. For a transcript of the front burner, visit: []
A source who knows directly about the matter said a city in southwestern Fujian Province, a city in Fujian Province, home to electronic ports and electronic products manufacturing bases, also sent a survey to the company on Sunday to assess the impact of the tariffs.
Sources said the investigation has been sent to textile companies and semiconductor companies and included issues in the estimated impact of products dealt with the U.S. and the U.S. and Chinese tariffs on their businesses.
