Trade war, news by Hebei Longsheng Metals and minerals co., ltd
| The trade war between the U.S. and China continued to distort trade flows in December. U.S. imports of products that faced the risk of an increase in duties to 25% from 10% as of January – which has since been postponed twice – surged 22.0% higher year over year in December. The largest increases in absolute terms included air conditioners, PVC flooring and furniture. By contrast there was by a continued drop in products that had 25% duties applied in July and August such that total U.S. imports of tariff-afflicted products fell 12.1%. China’s retaliatory tariffs meanwhile led to a 42.1% year over year drop in U.S. exports of tariff-linked products across all three categories in December. For 4Q as a whole U.S. imports of tariff-linked products rose $1.67 billion while U.S. exports fell $13.07 billion. The bulk of the decline in exports was down to commodities including $6.57 billion of soybeans and $2.72 billion in energy while the autos sector saw a $1.85 billion drop. |
