Maybe there will be another move? Recently, there have been renewed calls for the United States to reduce or reduce tariffs imposed on China. Many people believe that in a high-inflation environment, maintaining the additional tariffs imposed on China will push up prices and be detrimental to the U.S. economic recovery.
U.S. calls for relief from tariffs imposed on China
The U.S.-China Business Council issued a statement on the 27th saying that the imposition of additional tariffs on goods imported from China is an unnecessary tax on American consumers and businesses. Removing the additional tariffs will reduce the price of consumer goods. In the context of high inflation, every year This can save each family hundreds of dollars.
Dalip Singh, deputy assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs, recently attended an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee and said that some of the tariffs imposed by the US on China “lack a strategic purpose.” At present, inflationary pressure in the United States continues to rise. The federal government can reduce tariffs on bicycles, clothing and other Chinese goods exported to the United States to help curb rising prices.
Faced with calls in the United States to reduce or reduce tariffs on China, White House Press Secretary Psaki said at a regular press conference on the 25th that the Biden administration is carefully studying the impact of former President Trump’s administration’s additional tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the United States. The impact of inflation. Psaki did not disclose the possibility of reducing tariffs on China in the short term, but said that high inflation “is certainly something we are considering.
Since the second half of last year, inflationary pressure has been accumulating in the United States. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. consumer price index rose 8.5% year-on-year in March this year, setting a new peak since December 1981.
The United States can no longer bear it
Previously, the United States announced that it would restore tariff exemptions for 352 items of Chinese products exported to the United States. It seems that in response to the current inflation crisis, this import tariff has exacerbated their supply problems.
What’s more worth mentioning is that the list actually includes more than 30 textile products, including women’s knitted robes, some knitted clothing for babies, men’s and women’s cotton bathrobes, cotton pillowcases and other products that use yarn. This ratio is incredible. Not high. It seems that their import demand for this area is still not small.
On March 23, local time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued an announcement stating that in response to the additional tariffs imposed on China under the so-called “Section 301”, tariff exemptions for some Chinese imported goods have been restored. This tariff exemption involves 549 previously undetermined products. 352 items in .
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative stated that the regulation will apply to goods imported from China between October 12, 2021, and December 31, 2022.
In 2018 and 2019, the above-mentioned goods were exempted from tariffs when the Trump administration imposed additional tariffs in its trade war with China, but the exemptions have now expired.
The Biden administration has reviewed 549 items seeking exemptions, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Wednesday that it had granted exemptions to 352 of them.
The textile and apparel products involved in this tariff exemption are shown in the table below:
In addition, this tariff exemption also includes three products: 0505.10.0050 feathers, 0505.10.0055 down, and 9404.90.1000 cotton pillows filled with duck or goose down.
Order reverse flow
If tariffs on China are really reduced or reduced, there will undoubtedly be some benefits. After all, foreign trade will still be an important means for the prosperity of the textile industry. Nowadays, it will take some time for the domestic epidemic to be effectively controlled, and the economic recovery after the epidemic will take even more time to recover. Especially for the textile industry, it is a fact that the peak season in the first half of the year has passed, and downstream demand has not yet followed the cost. Affected by the epidemic and other factors, according to foreign yarn traders, many foreign orders are currently worried about China. Strict epidemic control has affected delivery times, and all orders have been transferred to Southeast Asia. This reverse flow of orders cannot be ignored.
Some industry insiders said: “The competition is still very fierce. According to the fabric factories we asked around, they said that a lot of fabrics have been sent to Southeast Asia, and the backflow phenomenon may not be as high as 2So obvious in 2021. “In recent years, with the trend of industrial migration to Southeast Asia, the number of textile and garment enterprises in my country has been declining year by year. Due to insufficient competitiveness and poor risk resistance, small and medium-sized textile and garment enterprises are showing signs of being phased out. The epidemic has accelerated the concentration of the industry. speed.
Since this year, many large domestic fabric houses have deliberately reduced their stocking of autumn fabrics, and some even plan to directly wait for winter fabrics. As for domestic autumn fabrics, firstly, the raw materials are rising and downstream is weak, making operations unprofitable. Secondly, the epidemic is spreading and wars are expanding, and there are too many uncertain factors. Judging from this year’s textile market, the lack of profitable new export orders is the fundamental reason.
Not just domestic textile companies, the global textile foreign trade market is also facing numerous obstacles this year! Affected by the epidemic, the global clothing industry has been affected. Not only physical clothing retail has been hit hard, but online clothing retail has also suffered heavy losses due to logistics and other reasons. Whether it is international luxury brand clothing or fast fashion brands, they are all in trouble.
In the short term, there is significant downward pressure on the global economy. The U.S. dollar index has risen strongly above 100. The rise in costs has shown a disconnect with downstream consumption. Although overseas textile production, including Vietnam, has received a large number of orders, it may still face a heavy burden. As for the reverse flow of orders, we can only hope that the epidemic will be controlled soon, demand will recover, and the domestic textile industry will seize the opportunities in the second half of the year and strive for an early recovery.
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