China is placing new taxes on many textile exports in an effort to ease some of the country’s trade tension with the United States, which has been increasing pressure on the country.
The United States recently set limits on its clothing imports from China. The European Union has also taken similar action. The U.S. Treasury elected a special envoy to China yesterday to further increase pressure.
Textile exporters in China will now pay duties of as much as 4 yuan (48 cents) for each item. This is five times higher than they were previously. The tariffs will be placed on 74 product types beginning June 1. AP reports:
In Washington, Commerce Department spokesman Dan Nelson didn’t offer much insight into U.S. thoughts on China’s action. He said there will be “an opportunity for discussion” about China’s tariffs announcement when the two countries consult in late May over recent decisions by the U.S. to impose limits on certain types of Chinese clothing shipped to America.
The Bush administration was in the process of reviewing China’s list of textile exports that it will boost tariffs on, a government official said.
“China is a responsible country, and it is for the purpose of helping establish a new world textile trade order and ease the trade friction that the government made the concession,” said China Textile Industry Council spokesman Sun Huaibin.
The other day, the U.S. treasury gave China a six-month deadline to revalue its currency. China rejected this and said that it could not achieve this in a fixed timeframe.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
