Lists of products to see lower tariffs unveiled

China and the United States have released reciprocal lists of products worth about US$30 billion each that will see tariff cuts, in a deal expected to boost bilateral trade. The reciprocal tariff reduction as well as an extension of a trade truce were among the key takeaways from the second summit this year between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, hosted in Washington last week. According to the Commerce Ministry, the two sides agreed to establish the Board of Trade under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, with the primary target of optimising bilateral trade. Beijing and Washington agreed to reduce tariffs on about US$30 billion worth of goods imported from each other on a reciprocal basis, with tariffs on around 90 percent of the covered products to be lowered to most-favoured-nation rates. The lists of products subject to the reciprocal tariff reductions included 1,619 items of US goods entering China and 77 categories of Chinese goods exported to America. The US will reduce tariffs on Chinese imports including toys, home appliances, baby products, kitchen and bathroom goods, and holiday gifts, while China will lower tariffs on American imports including agricultural products, personal care products and medical devices. The two sides also...