Just days ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer issued another statement regarding China’s auto tariffs today. Is it setting the stage for Trump to claim victory on some Chinese concessions? Or, Trump said yesterday that GM’s plant closures prompted him to study auto tariffs. At the same time, is he thinking about selling more cars to China to “equalize” the imports from EU and Japan?
The statement noted, “As the President has repeatedly noted, China’s aggressive, State-directed industrial policies are causing severe harm to U.S. workers and manufacturers. We are continuing to raise these issues with China. As of yet, China has not come to the table with proposals for meaningful reform.”
“China’s policies are especially egregious with respect to automobile tariffs. Currently, China imposes a tariff of 40 percent on U.S. automobiles. This is more than double the rate of 15 percent that China imposes on its other trading partners, and approximately one and a half times higher than the 27.5 percent tariff that the United States currently applies to Chinese-produced automobiles. At the President’s direction, I will examine all available tools to equalize the tariffs applied to automobiles.”
