WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has agreed to cut tariffs on U. S.-built cars and auto parts to 15 percent from the current 40 percent,…
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has agreed to cut tariffs on U. S.-built cars and auto parts to 15 percent from the current 40 percent, a Trump administration official said on Tuesday, setting the stage for a new talks aimed at easing the bitter trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Washington still had not received documentation nor timing details of the tariff reduction, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
China’s plan was communicated during a phone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday morning Beijing time, the official said.
News of the move, also reported by other media outlets and automotive executives briefed on the talks, boosted automakers’ shares and helped lift U. S. shares more broadly before worries about a U. S. government shutdown prompted a pullback.
Meanwhile, U. S.-China tensions over the Canadian arrest of a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies [HWT. UL] appeared to rise, as Canada confirmed that one of its citizens had been detained in China.
Canada said there was no direct link to the Huawei case, but two sources said the U. S. State Department was considering a travel warning of risks to U. S. citizens in China due to retaliation over the Huawei case.
TRADE TRUCE, SCANT DETAILS
U. S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at a Dec.
