Chinese officials say Beijing could remove extra US farm tariffs to boost imports: report

The head of a Beijing-backed trade association said the Chinese government may lift extra tariffs on U.S. farm products to allow importers to make up to $50 billion of purchases amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, according to Reuters.

President Trump said earlier in October that China planned to buy up to $50 billion in U.S. farm products in a tentative deal to end the trade war, but negotiations have stalled over whether China would commit to a specific figure or buy based on market conditions, according to the news service.

{mosads}“What the government can do is to remove the extra tariffs, both sides need to do this. Then let the companies make the purchases based on their own will, and based on market rules,” Cao Derong, president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, told Reuters.

“After the tariffs are removed, the trade goes back to normal. Then how much the firms would buy depends on the market,” Cao added.

Trump’s $40 billion-$50 billion target, compared to the $24 billion China spent on American agricultural products in 2017, is “very high” and Beijing cannot commit to it, Cao said.

He noted that China has already increased its purchases of soybeans from the U.S. and offered exemptions for more importers to buy oilseed from the U.S.

“We are stepping up imports and increasing purchases to release some goodwill gesture and create a better atmosphere and conditions for the negotiations between the two sides,” he said, according to Reuters.