Washington, DC — President Donald Trump on Monday hailed his administration’s temporary truce with China on trade, even as his Treasury secretary and China struck a note of caution on the latest agreement.

After high-level talks in Washington last week, Beijing has agreed to “substantially reduce” America’s trade deficit with China.

“On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time,” Trump tweeted.

Both sides, however, have said there are no guarantees trade tensions are over. China hasn’t said how much it’s willing to reduce the U.S. trade gap. The Trump administration had sought to slash the deficit by $200 billion.

Also left unclear is the issue of intellectual property. The U.S. has long accused Beijing of secretly stealing U.S. technology from American businesses. Mnuchin said Monday those issues “are part of our framework. These things cannot be fixed overnight.”

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who has been part of the U.S. negotiating team, is expected to go to China soon to follow up on last week’s discussions.

A day after declaring the trade war “on hold,” Treasury Security Steven Mnuchin told CNBC Monday that Trump is reserving the right to reimpose tariffs against Chinese goods if the two countries can’t agree on specifics to bring down the massive trade deficit with Beijing.

Likewise, China’s foreign ministry said details still have to be worked out.

“Given the increasing interaction between the two countries, we cannot assure you they will not encounter more frictions or disputes in the future,” said spokesman Lu Kang.

Last year, the U.S. had a record $376 billion deficit with China in the trade of goods; that was the largest by far with any nation.

Mnuchin has said to expect to see a big increase — 35 per cent to 45 per cent this year alone — in U.S. farm sales to China. Mnuchin also forecast a doubling in sales of U.S. energy products to the Chinese market, increasing energy exports by $50 billion to $60 billion in the next three years to five years.

Farm sales could be key politically, as many Trump supporters in rural states say they feared a U.S. trade war with China would hurt their export business.

“China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products – would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!” Trump tweeted Monday.

Trade analysts were not surprised that China refused to agree to a numerical target for cutting the trade gap, but they said the talks probably were more successful in easing trade tensions.

“The Trump administration seems eager to engineer at minimum a temporary peace with China to ensure a smooth run-up to the Kim-Trump summit in June,” Cornell University economist Eswar Prasad said, referring to the June 12 meeting scheduled between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

If there is success in the U.S.-China discussions, analysts suggest it likely would involve the countries’ presidents this fall before the November elections.

“Part of the good news for markets: As long as both sides continue to be ‘constructively’ engaged, imposition of additional tariffs by either side is very unlikely,” analysts at investment management firm Evercore ISI said in a research note. “There is no reason for either side — particularly the U.S. — to destroy the process that both sides are building, which is what imposing tariffs would do.”

Trump also pressed China to seal its border with North Korea “until a deal is made” — an apparent reference to his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

His early morning tweets underscore the complexity and importance of America’s relationship with China. For months, Trump railed against China to cut its trade surplus with the United States and threatened higher tariffs. China counterpunched with tariffs on U.S. products, rattling the market.

Throughout, the looming trade war has overshadowed Trump’s efforts to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program. The U.S. needs China’s help in sealing its border so Pyongyang can’t quietly skirt international sanctions.

“China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made,” he tweeted. “The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing!”

Last August, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer began investigating Beijing’s strong-arm tactics to challenge U.S. technological dominance. These include outright cybertheft of U.S. companies’ trade secrets and China’s demands that American corporations hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese markets.

Last month, the administration proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports to protest the forced technology transfers. Trump later ordered Lighthizer to seek up to an additional $100 billion in Chinese products to tax.

China responded by targeting $50 billion in U.S. products, including soybeans — a shot at Trump supporters in America’s heartland. The prospect of an escalating trade war has shaken financial markets and alarmed business leaders.

In a separate controversy, the Commerce Department last month blocked China’s ZTE Corp. from importing American components for seven years, accusing the telecommunications company of misleading U.S. regulators after it settled charges last year of violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The ban amounted to a death sentence for ZTE, which relies heavily on U.S. parts, and the company announced that it was halting operations. A week ago, Trump tweeted that he was working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to put ZTE “back in business, fast.” Media reports suggested that the U.S. was offering to swap a ZTE rescue for an end to proposed Chinese tariffs on U.S. farm products.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said there could be “some small changes around the edges” in the sanctions against ZTE. But Kudlow added: “Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. It ain’t gonna happen.”</s>China is cutting the tariffs it charges on imported cars, giving a potential boost to foreign automakers in the world's largest market.

The Chinese Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it will cut import duties on passenger vehicles from 25% to 15%, starting July 1.

The announcement, which fulfills an earlier pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping, comes just days after China and the United States agreed to a ceasefire in their recent trade hostilities.

President Donald Trump singled China's import duties on cars for criticism last month, pointing out that they're far higher than the 2.5% the United States charges on imported cars. "Does that sound like free or fair trade?" Trump tweeted. "No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE - going on for years!"

Related: How American cars are really sold in China

The following day, Xi announced during a closely watched speech that China would "significantly lower" auto tariffs and carry out a series of other measures that he portrayed as "a new phase of opening up" for the world's second-largest economy.

Bill Russo, founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility, called the lowering of car tariffs a "very significant move" that's likely to give foreign automakers a better chance of competing on cost with local manufacturers.

Germany's Porsche (POAHF) reacted quickly to China's announcement, saying on Tuesday it "welcomes the tariff reduction policy" and would consider lowering its prices for the Chinese market.

"Chinese customers will have [the] chance to enjoy an even [more] optimized price and pursue more personalized options when buying a car," it said in a written statement.

Others that stand to gain are high-end brands that ship expensive cars to China, such as BMW (BMWYY) and Mercedes-Benz (DMLRY), Russo said.

The gains for big US automakers like GM (GM) and Ford (F) are likely to be more limited. The lion's share of the cars they sell to Chinese consumers are already manufactured inside China.

The United States has been increasing its auto exports to China, though, despite the heavy duties. It sent $10.5 billion of cars -- new and used -- to China last year, up from $8.8 billion in 2016, according to the US Census Bureau.

The Chinese government also said Tuesday that it will reduce charges on imported auto parts to 6%, down from the current levels of between 8% and 25%.

Related: Global car makers unlikely to go it alone in China

As well as cutting tariffs, the Chinese government has also promised to remove restrictions on foreign carmakers that want to manufacture vehicles in the country.

Previously, companies such as GM and Volkswagen (VLKAF) had to establish joint ventures with local partners in which the Chinese companies have the controlling stake.

But last month, China said it will phase out those rules by 2022. It will start by lifting the restrictions on manufacturers of electric vehicles this year.

-- Steven Jiang and Alice McCool contributed to this report.</s>China will reduce its tariff on imported autos to 15% from 25% starting July 1, the Chinese government said Tuesday.

China’s import tariff on auto parts will also be cut to 6%, down from between 8% and 25%, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said. The moves would “promote the transformation and upgrading of the auto industry, and meet the demands of consumers,” the commission said.</s>WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - China will cut the import tariffs it charges on cars to 15 percent, which will give a boost to foreign automakers in the world's largest market, especially for US automakers.



The Chinese Finance Ministry Tuesday said that it will cut import duties on passenger vehicles from 25% to 15%, starting July 1.



The announcement to lower import tariffs comes just days after China and the United States agreed to a ceasefire in their recent trade war.



Last month, US President Donald Trump had criticized China's import duties on cars, indicating that China charges far higher than the 2.5 percent tariffs on imported cars in the United States.



China imported 280,208 vehicles, or 10 percent of total imported automobiles, from the U.S. last year, according to China's Passenger Car Association, an industry trade body.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>BEIJING (AP) — China has announced it will reduce auto import duties effective July 1 following promises to buy more U.S. goods and end restrictions on foreign ownership in the industry.

The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that charges for many imported vehicles will be reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent.

Automakers had been awaiting details since President Xi Jinping promised in April to ease ownership restrictions in the Chinese auto industry and cut import duties.

Xi's government promised Saturday to increase purchases of U.S. goods in response to pressure from President Donald Trump to narrow China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States.</s>Attendees look at the Tang SUV by Chinese automaker BYD after a press conference at the China Auto Show in Beijing. An industry group says Chinese passenger car sales expanded at a faster pace in April 2018 as growth in the world's biggest auto market picked up steam.

China's Finance Ministry said that it will cut import tariffs on some vehicles to 15%, down from as much as 25%.

The announcement Tuesday also said that tariffs on some automotive parts would fall to 6%. The cuts will be effective from July 1.

The move signifies an attempt to open up the world's largest auto market to international players. Discussion of a potential automotive sector tariff cut surfaced in April, and was mentioned in a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping that month. It was also revealed that China would permit full foreign ownership of car makers in five years.

According to the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, the average tax on qualifying vehicles will now be 13.8%. Car parts to have import duties lowered include bumpers, doors and seat belts.

The European automotive sector was trading up just over 0.7% Tuesday morning, with German parts maker Schaeffler leading the way. Higher-end car makers could stand to benefit from the decision, given that less production for these models has shifted to China. Toyota's Lexus could do well, given it currently does not make its cars in China and has not announced any plans to move manufacturing into the country.

BMW could also gain from the tariff cut. Previous analysis had suggested that the German automaker would be hit by China's implementation of import tariffs against the U.S. last month given that it builds a significant amount of its cars in the U.S. and then ships them to China.

Chinese car imports rose 16.8% year-on-year in 2017, according to state-run news agency Xinhua in February, citing the China Automobile Dealers Association. Around 1.21 million vehicles were brought into the country.

More: Dow jumps nearly 300 points as U.S says trade war with China 'on hold'

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More: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says trade war is 'on hold' after progress in U.S.-China talks

Tension over a potential trade war between China and the United States has eased in recent days following talks between top officials.

Over the weekend Vice Premier Liu He met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross among others in Washington, discussing how China could buy more agricultural and energy products from the U.S. to ease the trade deficit.

President Donald Trump tweeted that China had "agreed" to buy "massive amounts" of additional agricultural commodities, calling the news "one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years."

The meeting also yielded wins for China, with news that previously planned U.S. duties on Chinese imports, which threatened $50 billion-worth of trade, had been suspended. It has also been reported that the two countries are close to securing a deal on Chinese software firm ZTE, which had been banned from selling in the U.S. due to its violation of American sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

In an interview with CNBC Monday, Mnuchin said that "meaningful progress" had been made with China. "This has been a trade dispute all along, it never was a trade war," he added.

© CNBC is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.</s>SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China will steeply cut import tariffs for automobiles and car parts, the country’s finance ministry said on Tuesday, opening up greater access to the world’s largest auto market amid an easing of trade tensions with the United States.

Import tariffs will be cut to 15 percent for most vehicles from 25 percent from July 1, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement, adding this was part of efforts to open up China’s markets and spur development of the local auto sector. A small number of imported trucks are taxed at 20 percent currently.

China pledged last month to open up its auto market, announcing a timeline to remove long-standing caps on foreign ownership of automotive ventures and saying it would cut tariffs on imported cars soon.

The move will boost overseas carmakers, especially those that import premium-end cars to China such as Germany’s BMW (BMWG.DE), electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Daimler AG’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz.

Import tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6 percent from mostly around 10 percent, the ministry said.

China’s high tariff on vehicles - versus a 2.5 percent U.S. levy - has been a key focus of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration amid a simmering trade standoff between Washington and Beijing.

Trump has said previously the 25 percent tariff amounted to “stupid trade”, while auto industry leaders such as Tesla’s Elon Musk have said that Chinese restrictions on foreign auto makers created a skewed playing field.

China and the United States, however, made a breakthrough in trade talks after negotiations in Washington last week, stepping back from the brink of a global trade war and agreeing to hold further talks to boost U.S. exports to China.</s>Crowds at the first public opening day of the Beijing car show on April 27, 2018. China imported 1.22 million vehicles last year, or about 4.2 per cent of the country's total sales of about 28.9 million vehicles.

CHINA will cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15 per cent, boosting car makers such as BMW AG and Ford Motor Co just as the immediate threat of a trade war with the US recedes.

The Finance Ministry said on Tuesday the levy will be lowered effective July 1 from the current 25 per cent that has been in place for more than a decade. Bloomberg News had reported last month that China was weighing proposals to reduce the car import levy to 10 per cent or 15 per cent.

A reduction in import duty follows a truce between US President Donald Trump's administration and Chinese officials as they seek to defuse tensions and avert an all-out trade war. While the levy reduction could be claimed in some quarters as a concession to Mr Trump and will be a boon to US carmakers such as Tesla Inc, the move will also end up benefiting European and Asian manufacturers from Daimler AG to Toyota Motor Corp.

The latest round of tariff easing is part of a flurry of policy announcements in recent months aimed at demonstrating China's commitment to opening the economy - partly in response to the accusations of protectionism levelled by the Trump administration. Beijing has also pledged to slash ownership limits in the car sector as well as in banking, and last November reduced import tariffs on almost 200 categories of consumer products.

The import duty on car parts will be reduced to 6 per cent, the Finance Ministry said.

China announced on May 18 that it would end its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of US sorghum, citing "public interest". That move, coupled with recent steps including restarting a review of Qualcomm Inc's application to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV, signal a conciliatory stance from the Chinese side.

President Trump retreated from imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods because of White House discord over trade strategy and concern about harming negotiations with North Korea, according to people briefed on the administration's deliberations.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the administration's plan to impose tariffs had been suspended, and Mr Trump said on Twitter on Monday that the Chinese had agreed to purchase unspecified amounts of American farm products.

China imported 1.22 million vehicles last year, or about 4.2 per cent of the country's total sales of about 28.9 million vehicles. At the Boao Forum in April, President Xi Jinping reiterated China's commitment to reduce import tariffs on vehicles.

Of the US$51 billion of vehicle imports in 2017, about US$13.5 billion came from North America including sales of models made there by non-US manufacturers like BMW.

China imported 280,208 vehicles, or 10 per cent of total imported cars, from the US last year, according to China's Passenger Car Association, an industry trade body.

A duty cut would typically benefit luxury carmakers or manufacturers, like Tesla, that don't have a local production site. Most carmakers produce mass-market models in China.

For Tesla, a tariff cut will provide a boon until the company manages to set up local production. The Palo Alto, California-based company has been working with Shanghai's government since last year to explore assembling cars in China. China's announcement by Beijing that it will allow foreign new-energy vehicle makers to fully own car factories as early as this year removed the primary hurdle in the way of founder and billionaire Elon Musk.

Luxury sales leader Audi, part of Volkswagen, has been making cars in China since 1990s. General Motors Co's Cadillac, which has relegated Lexus to fifth in the luxury-car rankings, opened a factory in Shanghai in 2016.

High-end cars will feel the effects of a tariff cut because less of their production has moved locally. For example, Toyota's Lexus would benefit as the only premium Japanese marque that doesn't manufacture in China or hasn't announced plans to do so.

Foreign carmakers have long pleaded for freer access to China's car market, while its own manufacturers are expanding abroad. In April, China announced a timetable to permit foreign carmakers to own more than 50 per cent of local ventures. BLOOMBERG</s>China announced Tuesday that it would cut tariffs on auto imports from July 1, the latest sign of a thaw in trade frictions with the United States.

Beijing has announced a flurry of trade liberalisations and reforms since coming under fire from the Trump administration and some European politicians for its protectionist policies.

The planned reduction in import duties from 25 percent to 15 percent is a boon for international automakers but may fall short of fulfilling US President Donald Trump's expectations that Beijing match US tariffs of 2.5 percent.

Demands reportedly put to China by the United States at the start of trade talks called on it to lower all tariffs to at least match those of the US.

Trump has been following the issue closely and on Monday tweeted, "On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time."

The announcement in Beijing came days after Vice Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin led negotiations in Washington which ended with an agreement to pull back from the brink of a trade war.

The two sides agreed to refrain from imposing tariffs threatened on billions of dollars' worth of goods that would have dented US-China trade.

But the Trump administration has been split on the issue, with some members of the negotiating team saying the tariffs could still be imposed.

On Tuesday China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the US would send a high-level delegation to China to hold "detailed conversations" at an unspecified date.

President Xi Jinping announced in April that China would "considerably lower" tariffs on cars by the end of the year as part of a range of measures seen as an olive branch to Trump.

The cut to 15 percent will likely be welcomed by automakers selling cars in China, with Toyota importing its Lexus brand and American giant Ford shipping in most of its Lincolns.

The announcement also included a lowering of import duties on many types of auto parts.

Earlier this year China also announced plans to liberalise foreign ownership limits which had forced most foreign carmakers into joint ventures with state-owned companies.

China currently restricts foreign auto firms to a maximum 50 percent ownership of such joint ventures.

The changes will scrap shareholding limits for new-energy vehicle firms as soon as this year, followed by commercial vehicles in 2020 and passenger cars in 2022.</s>Amid fears of trade war under the protectionist policy of US President Donald Trump, exports king China is all set to hold its first import-only fair this year in November to give firm support to “trade liberalization and economic globalisation” and actively open the Chinese market to the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the plan to organise China International Import Expo (CIIE) in May last year.

Through this fair, the dragon is projecting the Chinese market as a “historic opportunity for enterprises” to tap the enormous potential for the growth of consumption and import. Some experts say that China is trying to give a message to the world that does it not only preach globalisation, it practices it too, while some others say that it could be an attempt to bridge the gap between its imports and exports as it has high trade surpluses with regard to many countries.

Even as China’s trade surplus narrowed in recent months, its surplus with the US stood at $22.19 billion in the month of April. “China should advance macroeconomic reforms that support greater household consumption growth and help rebalance the economy away from investment,” the US Treasury had suggested China in its April report while refraining to label the dragon a currency manipulator.

On trade war front, the US has put it “on hold” after the world’s largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was quoted by Reuters as saying.

On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China.

China expects businesses from over 100 countries and regions are expected to participate in the first CIIE. China aims to import products and services valuing more than 10 trillion US dollars in the next five years.
The Chinese Finance Ministry announces it will cut import duties on passenger vehicles from 25% to 15% starting on July 1, just days after China and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire in their recent trade hostilities.