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The Chinese government on 18 February 2020 announced that companies in the country could apply for an exemption on trade war tariffs on 696 USA products, including major petrochemical grades.

This is the third time China offers measures to stimulate the demand for USA products since the two countries reached the Phase-I trade deal in January 2020.

It is important to note that Chinese companies must submit all required documents starting 2 March 2020 for approval before being entitled to the trade-war tariffs exemption scheme. Sources informed that such a scheme has been in place since the trade war escalated in 2019, however, the approval rate was not as high as expected, resulted in lower purchasing interest for USA materials. “We hope the approval process would be smoother this time,” a trader said.

Trade war tariffs on major petrochemical products, including HDPE, LLDPE and PP from the USA to China have been lowered to 27.5% starting 14 February from the previous 30%. The trade-war tariffs exemption scheme, if approved, would allow companies to purchase these products at the normal import duties rate of 6.5% like other origins for a period of one (1) year.

Some of the affected products are listed in the following table: 

Country
China  USA