China to Reduce Import Tariffs on More Than 850 Items in 2020

China will implement lowered temporary import tariffs on more than 850 products in 2020, including frozen pork, avocado, orange juice and certain types of semiconductors, China’s Ministry of Finance said in a Dec. 23 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The tariffs, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, are lower than the most-favored-nation rates and will be used to import “consumer goods” that are “relatively scarce,” in China, the ministry said in a statement.

Along with tariffs on certain agricultural goods, China will eliminate tariffs on pharmaceutical products containing alkaloids for asthma treatment and “raw materials” for production of diabetes medicine, the ministry said. China will slash rates for “ferroniobium” and “multi-element integrated circuit” memories to expand imports of advanced technologies, equipment and parts, the ministry said. Lower rates will also apply to certain wood and paper products, tungsten, niobium scrap and waste.

China will also cancel import tariffs on a range of information technology products starting July 1, 2020, the ministry said. The ministry also said it will continue to levy the same duties on 107 items that include ferrochrome, a metal alloy. The ministry said the tariff adjustments will help reduce “import costs, [promote] the orderly and free flow of international and domestic factors, and [promote] the construction of a new level of open economy.”