"Import Agents Notified During Customs Clearance Process"
The intense standoff between the United States and China over tariffs, which had been escalating into a hardline confrontation, now appears to be moving toward a compromise.
As U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled a willingness to reduce tariffs on China, taking a conciliatory approach, it has been reported that China has already lifted or is considering lifting the additional 125% tariffs on certain U.S. goods.
Although the Chinese authorities have not made an official announcement, foreign media outlets and Chinese local media reported on April 25 that exemptions from tariffs on U.S. semiconductors have already begun to be implemented in the field of trade, and that tariff exemptions for ethane and medical equipment are also under consideration.
According to CNN and Chinese media outlet Caijing, Chinese authorities recently lifted the additional 125% tariffs on eight types of U.S. semiconductors, excluding memory chips.
It has also been reported that tariffs already paid may be refunded.
CNN pointed out that import agents received such notifications during the customs clearance process, and that these measures were carried out quietly without any official announcement from the authorities.
China is making all-out efforts to develop its semiconductor industry, but it still relies heavily on imports from the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the Netherlands. The latest measures are expected to benefit U.S. semiconductor companies such as Intel, Texas Instruments, and GlobalFoundries.
Meanwhile, Michael Hart, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham), stated, "Last week, we received reports from companies in the pharmaceutical sector that they were granted tariff exemptions when importing pharmaceuticals into China."
He added, "It appears that these exemptions apply to specific pharmaceuticals rather than being implemented across the entire industry."
Additionally, Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities are considering exempting certain U.S. imports, such as medical equipment and industrial chemicals like ethane, from tariffs.
Some factories in China, the world's largest producer of plastics, rely on U.S. ethane. Chinese hospitals also depend on advanced medical equipment, such as MRI scanners, produced by U.S. companies like GE Healthcare.
Furthermore, Chinese authorities are considering a plan to exempt aircraft leasing from tariffs, reportedly due to the significant financial burden on Chinese airlines that lease, rather than directly own, their aircraft.
However, the list of products eligible for exemption has not been finalized, and since the measures are still under review, exemptions may not actually be implemented.
Goldman Sachs also predicted that if U.S.-China trade negotiations proceed positively, tariffs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in addition to ethane, could be exempted.
Goldman Sachs analyst Daan Struyven and others stated in a report, "Petrochemical feedstocks could be given top priority on China's tariff exemption list for historical and economic reasons," and analyzed that "these products were also exempted from existing regulations in 2018."
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