The fear of an imminent rise in extra tariffs on virtually all US imports from China – including textiles, apparel and footwear – seems to have receded after progress made during talks between President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Japan.
The two Presidents met in Osaka on Friday (28 June), with Trump taking to Twitter a day later to say that after a “far better than expected” meeting he has agreed not to increase tariffs on $300bn worth of Chinese imports while the two sides continue negotiations.
Punitive tariffs of 25% are already in place on US$250bn of goods imported from China, and Trump says these will remain.
I had a great meeting with President Xi of China yesterday, far better than expected. I agreed not to increase the already existing Tariffs that we charge China while we continue to negotiate. China has agreed that, during the negotiation, they will begin purchasing large…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2019
….amounts of agricultural product from our great Farmers. At the request of our High Tech companies, and President Xi, I agreed to allow Chinese company Huawei to buy product from them which will not impact our National Security. Importantly, we have opened up negotiations…
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By GlobalData— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2019
….again with China as our relationship with them continues to be a very good one. The quality of the transaction is far more important to me than speed. I am in no hurry, but things look very good! There will be no reduction in the Tariffs currently being charged to China.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2019
The move came at the end of a near two-week-long hearing held by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on the Tranche 4 of retaliatory tariffs on US imports from China – which would include textiles, apparel and footwear.
Hundreds of company and industry representatives have been testifying, including and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO), which presented their evidence at the first day of the hearing, as well as Julia Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA).
The National Retail Federation (NRF) also testified, asking the administration to reevaluate its strategy for dealing with China. A recent report prepared for NRF found the proposed new round of tariffs would cost Americans $4.4bn each year for apparel.
“We welcome the progress made during this meeting and hope it will result in a constructive approach to working with China to deliver significant reforms rather than one that punishes American consumers and threatens US jobs through tariffs,” says David French, NRF senior vice president for government relations.
“Pulling back from the brink of further tariff escalation is a good sign for retailers and their customers, and we look forward to continued progress in the talks with China so that further tariffs can be avoided and existing ones lifted.”
