WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2019) The United States will postpone the decision to implement an additional 10 percent tariffs on some Chinese imports until December 15, the US Trade Representative announced in a statement on Tuesday.

"[A]s part of USTR's public comment and hearing process, it was determined that the tariff should be delayed to December 15 for certain articles," the statement said. "Products in this group include, for example, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing."

The US Trade Representative said that the 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports previously announced by by President Donald Trump will go into effect on September 1 as scheduled. </s> WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday announced the next steps in the process of imposing an additional tariff of 10 percent on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports.

On May 17, USTR published a list of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10 percent tariff. This new tariff will go into effect on September 1 as announced by President Trump on August 1.

Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security, and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent.

Further, as part of USTR’s public comment and hearing process, it was determined that the tariff should be delayed to December 15 for certain articles. Products in this group include, for example, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing.

USTR intends to conduct an exclusion process for products subject to the additional tariff.

The USTR will publish on its website and in the Federal Register as soon as possible, additional details and lists of the tariff lines affected by this announcement. </s> Washington — The Trump administration on Tuesday delayed imposing a 10% import tariff on laptops, cellphones, video-game consoles and a wide range of other products made in China, in an abrupt pull-back from a hardline stance on Chinese trade.

The US trade representative’s office action was published just minutes after China’s ministry of commerce said vice-premier Liu He conducted a phone call with US trade officials.

The delay in the tariffs that had been scheduled to start in September provides some relief to retailers. Though most US stores would have stocked their holiday merchandise before the earlier September deadline, some might have faced the tariffs for fill-in orders late in the holiday shopping season.

The decision came less than two weeks after President Donald Trump said on August 1 he would impose a 10% tariff on $300bn of Chinese goods, blaming China for not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural products.

The administration is still moving forward with 10% tariffs on much of the $300bn list first disclosed in May, publishing a 122-page list of products that will face tariffs beginning September 1, including smartwatches.

Since Trump’s August 1 tweets threatening the new tariffs, the US benchmark S&P stock index has dropped more than 4%. On Tuesday, technology investors welcomed news of the exemptions, pushing an index of chip stocks up 3.1%, while shares of Apple surged more than 5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 500 points.

The exemptions, combined with renewed talks with China, suggest Trump may be willing to compromise.

In a sign the administration may be expecting something in return, Trump tweeted on Tuesday: “As usual, China said they were going to be buying ‘big’ from our great American Farmers.

“So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!” Trump tweeted.

Other products that will have tariffs delayed until December 15 include “computers, video-game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing”, the US trade representative’s office said in a statement.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association said “removing some products from the list and delaying additional 10% tariffs on other products, such as toys, consumer electronics, apparel and footwear, until December 15 is welcomed news as it will mitigate some pain for consumers through the holiday season”.

The 21-page-list of products that will not be affected by the tariffs until December includes baby monitors and prams, microwaves, instant-print cameras, doorbells, high chairs, musical instruments, tomato-sauce dispensers, baby nappies, fireworks, sleeping bags, nativity scenes, fishing reels, paint rollers and food products.

The trade representative’s office is still moving forward with tariffs on September 1 on many products such as live animals, dairy products, skis, golf balls, contact lenses, motorcycle engines, lithium ion batteries, snowblowers and various types of steel.

A separate group of products will also be exempt altogether, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors”, it added. </s> Some very important news today from the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Approximately 20 percent of the items set to be hit with a 10 percent tariff on September 1 had their tariff date pushed back to December 1, this morning, per the following announcement from the USTR:

USTR Announces Next Steps on Proposed 10 Percent Tariff on Imports from China

Washington, DC – The United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced the next steps in the process of imposing an additional tariff of 10 percent on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports.

On May 17, 2019, USTR published a list of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10 percent tariff. This new tariff will go into effect on September 1 as announced by President Trump on August 1.

Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent.

Further, as part of USTR’s public comment and hearing process, it was determined that the tariff should be delayed to December 15 for certain articles. Products in this group include, for example, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing.

USTR intends to conduct an exclusion process for products subject to the additional tariff.

The USTR will publish on its website today, and in the Federal Register as soon as possible, additional details and lists of the tariff lines affected by this announcement.

The USTR then almost immediately came out with two new tariff lists. One, called List 4A, is a 121 page lists of products that will be subject to a 10 percent tariff on September 1, as originally planned. The other, called List 4B, is a 21 page list of products that were to be subject to a 10 percent tariff on September 1 but will instead not be subject to that tariff until December 15.

Cellphones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors and some shoes and clothing make up the bulk of the list of items on which tariffs have been delayed. This delay is believed to have been instituted to avoid higher prices on items often bought by back-to-school and holiday shoppers. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday delayed imposing a 10% import tariff on laptops, cell phones, video game consoles and a wide range of other products made in China, in an abrupt pull-back from a hardline stance on Chinese trade.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office action was published just minutes after China’s Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with U.S. trade officials.

The delay in the tariffs that had been scheduled to start next month provides some relief to retailers. Although most stores would have stocked their holiday merchandise before the earlier September deadline, some might have faced the tariffs for fill-in orders late in the holiday shopping season.

The decision came less than two weeks after President Donald Trump said on Aug. 1 he would impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese goods, blaming China for not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural products.

The administration is still moving forward with 10% tariffs on much of the $300 billion list first disclosed in May, publishing a 122-page list of products that will face tariffs beginning Sept. 1, including smartwatches.

Since Trump’s Aug. 1 tweets threatening the new tariffs, the U.S. benchmark S&P stock index has dropped more than 4% percent.

On Tuesday, technology investors welcomed news of the exemptions, pushing an index of chip stocks up 3.1%, while shares of Apple (AAPL.O) surged more than 5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 500 points.

The exemptions, combined with renewed talks with China, suggest Trump may be willing to compromise.

In a sign the administration may be expecting something in return, Trump tweeted on Tuesday: “As usual, China said they were going to be buying “big” from our great American Farmers. So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!” Trump tweeted.

Other products that will have tariffs delayed until Dec. 15 include “computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing,” the USTR said in a statement.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association said “removing some products from the list and delaying additional 10% tariffs on other products, such as toys, consumer electronics, apparel and footwear, until Dec. 15 is welcomed news as it will mitigate some pain for consumers through the holiday season.”

The 21-page-list of products that won’t get hit with tariffs until December includes baby monitors and strollers, microwaves, instant print cameras, doorbells, high chairs, musical instruments, ketchup dispensers, baby diapers, fireworks, sleeping bags, nativity scenes, fishing reels, paint rollers and food products.

USTR is still moving forward with tariffs on Sept. 1 on many products such as live animals, dairy products, skis, golf balls, contact lenses, motorcycle engines, lithium ion batteries, snowblowers and various types of steel.

A separate group of products will also be exempt altogether, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors,” it added.

The announcement comes amid growing concerns about a global slowdown. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies before the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Cell phones, laptop and tablet computers, toys and video game controllers were among the top four product categories in the proposed $300 billion list of products targeted by the latest 10% tariff. These products accounted for a combined $98 billion of Chinese imports in 2018, according to a Reuters analysis of U.S. Census bureau data.

Trump has also personally criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to do more to stem sales of the synthetic opioid fentanyl amid an opioid overdosing crisis in the United States.

The USTR office plans to conduct an exclusion process for products subject to the additional tariff. </s> Because of Christmas shopping, Donald Trump has decided to delay tariffs on some Chinese imports until mid-December.

The US President announced the decision just hours after his Office had a phone call with Chinese officials.

The 10% import tariff on mobile phones, laptops, video game consoles and other products made in China were announced less than two weeks ago and were scheduled to start next month.

The exemptions, combined with renewed talks with China, suggest Trump may be willing to compromise, as the head of Macroeconomic Analysis in Saxo Bank, Christopher Dembik, suggests.

"It's naive to think the United States can stand aloof from the trade tensions. The impact of the tariffs would not be as enormous as imagined in the short term. But in the long run, all the parties may get hurt," he said.

On September 1, the United States is still moving forward with tariffs on many other products such as live animals, dairy products, motorcycle engines or lithium batteries. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will delay 10% tariffs on certain Chinese products, including laptops and cell phones, that had been scheduled to start next month, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Tuesday.

Other products whose tariffs will be delayed until Dec. 15 include “computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing,” the USTR said in a statement. A separate group of products will also be exempt altogether “based on health, safety, national security and other factors,” it added. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed off his Sept. 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods, in the hopes of blunting their impact on U.S. holiday sales.

The delay which, affects about half of the $300 billion target list of Chinese goods - along with news of renewed trade discussions between U.S. and Chinese officials - sent stocks sharply higher and drew cautious relief from retailers and technology groups.

Trump’s 10% tariffs will be effective from Dec. 15 for thousands of products including clothing and footwear, possibly buttressing the holiday selling season from some of the fallout from the protracted trade spat between the world’s two largest economies.

“We’re doing this for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey. “Just in case they might have an impact on people, what we’ve done is we’ve delayed it so that they won’t be relevant to the Christmas shopping season.”

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced the decision just minutes after China’s Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with U.S. trade officials.

Liu agreed with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to speak again by phone within the next two weeks, the ministry said.

Trump has said the two sides may still meet in early September as scheduled.

APPLE SHINES

The delay in tariffs on a substantial portion of a $300 billion list of remaining Chinese imports sent U.S. stocks surging, after steep losses in the past week, with the Standard & Poor's 500 .SPX up 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gaining nearly 2%.

Shares of market bellwether Apple Inc (AAPL.O) soared 4.2% on news that its core iPhone, tablet and laptop computer products would be spared from tariffs for the time being.

But the Trump administration still plans to impose 10% tariffs on thousands of Chinese food, clothing and other consumer electronics products beginning Sept. 1.

Among these are Chinese-made smartwatches from Apple and Fitbit (FIT.N), smart speakers from Amazon.com Inc AMZN., Google (GOOGL.O) and Apple, and Bluetooth headphones and other devices, a category estimated at $17.9 billion last year by the Consumer Technology Association.

Flat screen televisions from China, a category worth $4.5 billion, also will face 10% tariffs on Sept. 1 after being spared from Trump’s first round of tariffs more than a year ago.

Live animals, dairy products, skis, golf balls, contact lenses, lithium ion batteries and snowblowers will also get tariffs on Sept. 1

A trade group representative said USTR informed them that it opted to delay tariffs on items where China supplies more than 75 percent of total U.S. imports. Product categories where China supplies less than 75 percent will still face tariffs on Sept. 1, the representative said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information was not publicly released.

According to U.S. Census data, China supplied 82 percent of U.S. cell phones and 94.5 percent of U.S. laptops in 2018.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Based on a Reuters analysis, the delay could extend to around half of the $300 billion list of remaining Chinese imports. Chinese imports subject to the tariffs on Dec. 15 totaled about $156 billion last year, according U.S. Census bureau data.

While most retailers would have stocked their holiday merchandise before the September deadline, some might have faced the tariffs for fill-in orders late in the holiday shopping season.

Still, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said “removing some products from the list and delaying additional 10% tariffs on other products, such as toys, consumer electronics, apparel and footwear, until Dec. 15 is welcome news as it will mitigate some pain for consumers through the holiday season.”

The Consumer Technology Association applauded the delay on some items, but added: “Next month, we’ll begin to pay more for some of our favorite tech devices – including TVs, smart speakers and desktop computers. The administration should permanently remove these harmful tariffs and find another way to hold China accountable for its unfair trading practices.”

The 21-page-list of products that will not get hit with tariffs until December also includes baby monitors and strollers, microwaves, instant print cameras, doorbells, high chairs, musical instruments, ketchup dispensers, baby diapers, fireworks, sleeping bags, nativity scenes, fishing reels, paint rollers and food products.

A separate group of products will be removed from the tariff list altogether, the USTR said, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors.” It did not immediately identify these items.

Trump announced the Sept. 1 tariffs less than two weeks ago, blaming China for not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural products during talks in Shanghai at the end of July. That move was met with a drop in China’s yuan currency a few days later, prompting the Trump administration to declare Beijing a currency manipulator and sending markets tumbling for several days last week.

Since Trump’s Aug. 1 tweets announcing the new tariffs, the U.S. benchmark S&P; stock index has dropped more than 4%.

The tariff delay, combined with renewed talks with China, suggest Trump may be willing to compromise.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese staffers adjust U.S. and Chinese flags before the opening session of trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese trade representatives at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS

In a sign the administration may be expecting something in return, Trump tweeted on Tuesday: “As usual, China said they were going to be buying ‘big’ from our great American Farmers. So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s tariff delay comes amid growing concerns about a global economic slowdown. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession were increasing and Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the two countries before the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Trump has also personally criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to do more to stem sales of the synthetic opioid fentanyl amid an opioid overdosing crisis in the United States.

The USTR office plans to conduct an exclusion process that could allow more items to be removed from the 10% tariff list. </s> US to delay imposing tariffs on some products from China

Washington, Aug 13 (EFE).- The US government said Tuesday it would hold off on imposing 10 percent tariffs on certain products imported from China until December.

“It was determined that the tariff should be delayed to December 15 for certain articles,” the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.

The tariffs were originally scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1.

The USTR also said that some products would no longer be subjected to tariffs.

“Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent,” the USTR said.

Some products, however, will still be subject to the higher tariffs starting on Sept. 1, but the USTR did not identify them.

The USTR posted lists on its website on Tuesday of products subject to tariffs effective Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.

The USTR said it “will publish in the Federal Register as soon as possible additional details and lists of the tariff lines affected by this announcement.”

In late July, a team led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin negotiated in Shanghai with a high-level Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier Liu He.

On Aug. 1, President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs on goods from China effective Sept. 1 after the latest round of trade talks with the Asian nation failed to yield a deal.

“Our representatives have just returned from China where they had constructive talks having to do with a future Trade Deal. We thought we had a deal with China three months ago, but sadly, China decided to re-negotiate the deal prior to signing,” Trump said on Twitter.

On Aug. 6, China responded to Trump’s tariff announcement, saying that state-owned companies had halted purchases of agricultural goods from the United States.

The Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Washington’s decision to slap additional tariffs on Chinese products effective Sept. 1 was a “grave violation” of agreements reached by Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at their June 29 meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The ministry said it would not rule out tariffs on newly purchased agricultural goods after Aug. 3.

The world’s two largest economic powers have been engaged in a trade war for more than 18 months, leveling allegations at each other and slapping tariffs on imports.

In May, Trump increased from 10 percent to 25 percent a tariff on Chinese imports worth $200 billion. China retaliated by slapping tariffs on US imports worth $60 billion.

Trump later threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on another $325 billion of Chinese imports, causing concern in financial markets and the business community due to the possible effect on consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of US economic activity.

In Osaka, Trump and Xi agreed to a truce in the trade war, which is rooted in Washington’s unhappiness over China’s massive trade surpluses with the United States.

In 2018, the United States posted a trade deficit of $419 billion with China due, largely, to the fact that US exports to Asia’s largest economy totaled just $120 billion, while American imports from China reached $540 billion.

During the first five months of 2019, the US trade deficit with China was $137 billion.

In recent days, Trump has expressed unhappiness with the Chinese government’s decision to devalue the yuan, pushing the currency’s exchange rate against the dollar to a key level not seen since 2008. EFE
The United States Trade Representative announces a delay until December 15 on a significant number of products affected by 10% import tariffs announced on August 1 and set to be imposed in September.