June 20, 2018

 

China retaliatory tariff on US seafoods takes effect July 6

 

 

China's retaliatory 25% tariff on over 170 US seafood products and some 375 other non-seafood goods will be taking effect on July 6, the same day that the US starts imposing a 25% tariff on roughly 800 of 1,100 Chinese products, according to reports. 

 

China's tit-for-tat move came after the US announced on June 15 that it would slap the 25% tariff on a list of $50 billion in Chinese imports. The remaining 300 Chinese products could face tariffs pending a final decision by the US trade office, reports said.

 

"We will immediately introduce taxation measures of the same scale and with the same intensity," China's commerce ministry was quoted as saying in a statement on the same day the US White House made the announcement on the 25% tariff.

 

"All the economic and trade achievements previously negotiated by the two parties will become invalid", it added.

 

Earlier, China and the US tried to resolve their differences, with the former promising in May to buy more goods from the latter to narrow the trade deficit between the two countries. 

 

"We deeply regret that the United States has disregarded the consensus it has formed and flip-flopped, provoking a trade war", a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on June 15, according to a report posted on cbsnews.com.

 

President Donald Trump said the tariffs on China were in response to the country's "unfair trade practices" including requiring US companies to effectively hand over innovations and other competitively sensitive information in exchange for access to the huge Chinese market, according to the report.

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] News Analysis by John Sackton – June 18, 2018

 

What's next after China has announced a 25% tariff on over 170 different US seafood products, to take effect on July 6th?

 

First, the disruption is already having immediate consequences.  We have heard of order cancellations over the weekend.  For example, a squid supplier from California had his Chinese buyer immediately cancel his order.

 

This kind of disruption will continue over the next couple of weeks.  China has a holiday, the dragon boat festival, today, Monday, June 18th.  This is delaying the opening of many offices.

 

Second, the biggest question facing many Alaskan exporters is whether the tariffs apply to product sent to China for re-export...