US considering 12-month extension of tariff waiver for certain Chinese goods

The United States is considering a 12-month extension on tariff exclusions for USD 34 billion worth of Chinese imports as the tariff exclusion deadline is set to expire in December this year.

"The United States Trade Representative (USTR) will commence on November 1, 2019 a process for considering extending for up to twelve months certain exclusions from additional tariffs on Chinese imports that were granted last December and are set to expire on December 28, 2019," the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement.

"Once the notice is published in the Federal Register this week, the US Trade Representative will have a public commenting period from November 1-30," it added.

On October 13, US President Donald Trump announced he had agreed in principle to a "phase one" trade deal with China's Vice Premier Liu He after high-level negotiations between the two sides in Washington.

Trump said that the deal includes China agreeing to raise its US agricultural purchases to between USD 40 billion and USD 50 billion in addition to making reforms concerning intellectual property and financial services.

Liu, speaking in China last week in his first public comments on the trade talks since his meeting with Trump, said that the two countries made "concrete progress" in many areas, laying an important foundation for the signing of a phased agreement, media reported.

Liu added that negotiations must be conducted on the basis of equal and mutual respect to address the core concerns of the two countries.

The US was also due to raise tariffs on Chinese exports from 25 per cent to 30 per cent on October 15, but that planned increase appears to be on hold as well.