BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) – China is seeking opinions from companies, business associations and local governments on proposed reciprocal tariff cut arrangements with the United States on about $30 billion in trade, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.
Teams from both sides have maintained close communication about the arrangements of the tariff reduction framework and the structure, functions and operating model of their Board of Trade, a ministry official said at a press briefing.
After reaching a trade truce late last year to halt their tariff war, China and the U.S. agreed this year to set up the Board of Trade to explore areas where they could cut duties on goods worth some $30 billion.
China’s commerce ministry had said in May that agricultural products would be part of the tariff cut framework.
“China is widely soliciting opinions from domestic enterprises, business associations, local governments, and U.S. business associations on relevant tariff reduction arrangements,” said Meng Huating, the commerce ministry official, adding that the U.S. is similarly seeking public opinions on tariff cuts.
Beijing and Washington will agree on specific arrangements as soon as possible and advance their implementation to further expand bilateral trade, Meng said.
(Reporting by Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tom Hogue)
