US and China Seek Industry Feedback on Tariff Reductions via New Trade Board

Beijing and Washington are actively soliciting industry feedback on potential bilateral tariff reductions under the newly established board of trade, according to China’s commerce ministry.

“The Chinese side is widely soliciting views from stakeholders – including domestic firms, business associations, local governments as well as American firms and business associations – on relevant tariff reduction arrangements,” Meng Huating, director of the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Foreign Investment Administration, told a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

The United States was also collecting public feedback on the trade board as the two sides continued to iron out details regarding its “framework, functions and operational model”, Meng added.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two countries were moving towards implementing the two boards ahead of President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the US this year.

“I think that’s one of the potential concrete deliverables that we can have before September when that visit happens,” Rubio told reporters in Manila, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.