China and the United States have agreed terms of a Phase 1 trade deal under which the United States reduced some tariffs and Beijing canceled retaliatory duties that were scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15.
Before the Dec. 15 deal, U.S. corn, sorghum, wheat, undenatured ethanol and refined copper cathodes had faced an additional tariff of 10% on shipments to China. Propane, cotton, aluminium scrap, copper scrap and rare earth magnets were all set for an additional 5% duty.....MUCH MORE
Below is a list and timeline showing how China’s tariffs on key U.S. commodities and energy items stand after the Phase 1 accord.
CRUDE OIL
China imposed a 5% tariff on U.S. crude oil shipments from Sept. 1, the first time U.S. oil had been targeted since the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies started more than a year ago. The 5% tariff was not affected by the Phase 1 deal.
China, the world’s biggest crude importer, has cut U.S. shipments from a record high last year. Chinese customs data showed imports in the first 10 months were halved year-on-year to 146,275 barrels per day.
PROPANE
China removed an additional 5% tariff on U.S. propane shipments that was set to take effect from Dec. 1. A 25% duty that China imposed on U.S. propane on Aug. 23, 2018, remains in place.
Chinese firms process U.S. propane into petrochemicals such as propylene. Imports last year were worth an estimated $2 billion.
LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG)
China imposed a 10% punitive tariff on U.S. LNG shipments in September 2018, raising it to 25% in June. LNG duties were not affected by the Dec. 15 deal.
Imports of the super-chilled fuel in the first 10 months of 2019 shrank 87.2% on the year to 258,955 tonnes, according to Chinese customs....
