New Chinese economic data released on Friday also indicated the bilateral trade war is causing the Chinese economy to slow.
China has purchased another 300,000 metric tons of U. S. soybeans, in another sign that a trade war cease-fire between the two countries is returning commerce somewhat to normal, at least temporarily.
USDA announced the sales Friday morning, on the heels of another sale of 1.13 million tons of soybeans to China earlier this week. That was the ninth-largest daily sale in the history of USDA’s record keeping and China’s first major purchase of U. S. soybeans since President Donald Trump began imposing duties on Chinese goods to pressure Beijing to change its trade and intellectual property rights practices.
New Chinese economic data released on Friday also indicated the bilateral trade war is causing the Chinese economy to slow from the 6.5 percent annual growth rate posted in the third quarter. Although 6.5 percent is high by U. S. standards, it’s significantly slower than rates China enjoyed earlier in the decade.
The Chinese government also announced that it was lowering its tariff on U. S. autos to the pre-trade war level of 15 percent, from 40 percent currently. However, the reduction is only for three months, beginning on Jan. 1, reflecting the uncertain prospects for the two countries to reach a long-term deal.
