Rasierapparate, Kamele und Hasenfell: Die USA und China wollen die Zölle auf wenige ausgewählte Produkte reduzieren

The recent summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping produced minimal consensus on major issues. The high expectations surrounding the meeting failed to materialize. The sole tangible outcome was an agreement to reduce tariffs on select non-sensitive goods. China aims to lower tariffs on US products such as rabbit fur, dolphin, camel, and goose liver paste.

In return, the US pledged to decrease taxes on Chinese goods like toys, electric devices, and fishing hooks. Altogether, Washington will lower tariffs on 77 Chinese products, while China will reduce duties on 1,619 US-made items. While the agreed tariff cuts may seem significant, they only affect a $60 billion trade volume, with $30 billion from each country.

The total trade volume between the two nations last year reached $415 billion. Both governments sought to portray the agreement as substantial progress, with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stating that it would "help stabilize US-China trade relations." US Trade Representative Jamie Greer stated that the US would continue advocating for "fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade between the US and China."

The US demands more agricultural imports from China, which Beijing has failed to deliver. China has only fulfilled about two-thirds of previous promises to supply rare earths and critical minerals to the US. Consequently, Washington is hesitant to commit to Beijing's call for prolonging the ceasefire until the end of Trump's term.

The current agreement expires on November 10th, a date China had pushed for extending until the end of Trump's presidency. Looking ahead, the focus is on future meetings between Trump and Xi, with the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G-20 summit in Miami in December expected to address remaining contentious issues. However, the summit in Washington highlighted the ongoing rivalry between the two superpowers, with little real progress made.