Please try another search
By Adam Jourdan and Norihiko Shirouzu
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China will steeply cut import tariffs for automobiles and car parts, opening up greater access to the world's largest auto market amid an easing of trade tensions with the United States.
Import tariffs will be cut to 15 percent from 25 percent for most vehicles from July 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, adding that this was part of efforts to open up China's markets and spur development of the local auto sector. A small number of imported trucks are taxed at 20 percent currently.
Import tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6 percent from mostly around 10 percent, the ministry said in a statement.
The move will be a major boost to overseas carmakers, especially helping premium brands such as Germany's BMW (DE:BMWG), electric car maker Tesla Inc (O:TSLA) and Daimler AG's (DE:DAIGn) Mercedes-Benz close a price gap on local rivals.
"Benefits are huge for our business, especially Infiniti," said a Yokohama-based executive at Nissan Motor Co Ltd (T:7201) referring to the Japanese firm's premium car brand.
Another executive at the firm's Chinese joint venture said it was "great news" but that the biggest beneficiaries would likely be German luxury carmakers, which also include Volkswagen AG's (DE:VOWG_p) Porsche and Audi (DE:NSUG) brands.
"That's just because of the volume of imported cars they sell," the person said, asking not to be named.
Nissan did no respond to a request for comment.
Toyota Motor Corp (T:7203) said it would adjust retail prices for imported cars that benefited from the lower tariffs to provide Chinese consumers with "competitive" products.
BMW said it would look at its prices and said the move was a "strong signal that China will continue to open up", while Audi said it welcomed the "further liberalization and opening" of the Chinese market.
A Shanghai-based spokesman for Ford Motor (N:F) said the U.S. carmaker welcomed the new tariff policies, but declined to comment further.
China's high tariff on vehicles - versus a 2.5 percent U.S. levy - has been a key focus of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration amid a simmering trade standoff between Washington and Beijing.
Trump has said the 25 percent tariff amounted to "stupid trade", while auto industry leaders such as Tesla's Elon Musk have said that Chinese restrictions on foreign auto makers created a skewed playing field.
China and the United States, however, made a breakthrough in trade talks after negotiations in Washington last week, stepping back from the brink of a global trade war and agreeing to hold further talks to boost U.S. exports to China.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.