China, US Strike Tech Trade Deal

[tonyget]

China, US Strike Tech Trade Deal | EE Times


SAN JOSE, Calif. — Trade negotiators from China and the US have reached a preliminary deal they say could end tariffs on as much as a trillion dollars in annual global sales of high-tech goods, eliminating tariffs as high as 25% on some next-generation semiconductors. The deal requires approval of the World Trade Organization, which could take up the issue as early as December.

The deal was the result of off-and-on negotiations since 2012 to expand the 17-year old Information Technology Act. The deal would eliminate tariffs on as many as 200 product areas including medical equipment, GPS devices, video game consoles, computer software, and next-generation chips.

The taxes ranged from as much as 30% on solid-state drives and video game consoles to 8% on magnetic resonance imaging machines and computed tomography scanners.

The White House issued a statement estimating the deal would end tariffs on $100 billion worth of products from US companies, potentially opening up 60,000 new jobs.

“Today’s agreement between the US and China to expand the ITA is a hard-fought victory for the US semiconductor industry and a big win for the US economy and consumers around the world,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association in a statement.

@LeveragedBuyout

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

China, US Strike Tech Trade Deal | EE Times


SAN JOSE, Calif. — Trade negotiators from China and the US have reached a preliminary deal they say could end tariffs on as much as a trillion dollars in annual global sales of high-tech goods, eliminating tariffs as high as 25% on some next-generation semiconductors. The deal requires approval of the World Trade Organization, which could take up the issue as early as December.

The deal was the result of off-and-on negotiations since 2012 to expand the 17-year old Information Technology Act. The deal would eliminate tariffs on as many as 200 product areas including medical equipment, GPS devices, video game consoles, computer software, and next-generation chips.

The taxes ranged from as much as 30% on solid-state drives and video game consoles to 8% on magnetic resonance imaging machines and computed tomography scanners.

The White House issued a statement estimating the deal would end tariffs on $100 billion worth of products from US companies, potentially opening up 60,000 new jobs.

“Today’s agreement between the US and China to expand the ITA is a hard-fought victory for the US semiconductor industry and a big win for the US economy and consumers around the world,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association in a statement.

@LeveragedBuyout

Thanks, @tonyget . This is an interesting chicken-or-egg problem. Does growing trust between the US and China enable this deal to be struck, or is the hope that by striking such a deal, we can develop better relations? I've seen several articles on this, and none of the journalists have bothered explaining why these tariffs were originally put in place, and what has changed to enable their removal. Do you have any insight into the matter?

 

[tonyget]

Thanks, @tonyget . This is an interesting chicken-or-egg problem. Does growing trust between the US and China enable this deal to be struck, or is the hope that by striking such a deal, we can develop better relations? I've seen several articles on this, and none of the journalists have bothered explaining why these tariffs were originally put in place, and what has changed to enable their removal. Do you have any insight into the matter?

As you know, many US made high-tech products are forbade from export to China. I suspect that China and the US made a deal, the US will lift bans on some products in return they will enjoy lower tariffs.

 

[Keel]

This area has been one of the key bilateral trade negotiations for some time between them when USA has been complaining about the huge C/A deficits that it has been suffering in favour of China year-on-year and China has been requesting USA to export to China hi-end technological products so as to narrow the gap.

This could be a win-win situation until China picks up the slack on tech which may render the American products lose their value in China over time