China asks US to 'completely abolish' reciprocal tariffs

(AFP) China on Sunday urged the United States to fully eliminate its reciprocal tariffs, following Washington's announcement of exemptions for phones, computers, and other electronics.

The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a tariff war since U.S. President Donald Trump announced global tariffs earlier this month. For Chinese goods, the tariffs have reached as high as 145%, while China has retaliated with tariffs of 125% on U.S. products.

"We urge the United States (...) to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely abolish the wrong practice of reciprocal tariffs and return to the right path of mutual respect," a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

After his tariffs triggered a strong slump in global markets, Trump announced a 90-day extension for most countries, though China was excluded.

Washington eased pressure again on Friday when the U.S. Customs Service announced that smartphones, laptops, memory chips, and other technology products would be exempt from the global tariffs.

On Sunday, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce described the exemptions as a 'small step' by Washington and stated that China was "assessing the impact" of the decision.

Washington's announcements will benefit U.S. tech companies like Nvidia and Dell, as well as Apple, the Chinese maker of iPhones and other high-end products.

U.S. customs data suggests that exempt items make up more than 20% of imports from China.

Semiconductor tariffs

The secretary of U.S. commerce said on Sunday that tariffs on semiconductors are likely to begin "in the next month or two."

"We can't depend on China for fundamental things that we need. Our medicines and our semiconductors must be built in the United States," Howard Lutnick told ABC's This Week.

Trump said on Saturday that he would give a "very specific" answer on Monday regarding future taxes on semiconductors.