China to ‘reduce and remove’ tariffs on US autos, tweets Trump

China has agreed to “reduce and remove” tariffs on US auto exports, US President Donald Trump has tweeted.

Cars waiting to be exported at a port in Lianyungang in China's eastern Jiangsu province. Picture: AFP

China agreed to cut tariffs on American cars, President Trump said on Twitter.

The announcement came after a weekend dinner between Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires at which the US postponed its threat to increase tariffs on $US200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.

“China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the US Currently the tariff is 40 per cent,” Mr. Trump said in a late-night tweet.

China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40%.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018

China cut its tariff on non-US imported vehicles to 15 per cent from 25 per cent in July. But within days, it increased its tariff on cars made in the US to 40 per cent in retaliation for new US tariffs on vehicle imports.

The US exported $US9.5 billion worth of new passenger vehicles and light trucks to China in 2017, according to the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

Dow Jones