- The US has increased tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, with the change coming into effect at midnight.
- Tariffs increased when midnight deadline for agreement to be reached between China and the US passed without a deal, though talks between the delegations will continue on Friday.
- Beijing vowed to retaliate over the increase. In a statement, the commerce ministry said Beijing “deeply regrets” the increase and said they would “have to take necessary countermeasures”.
- The Asia-Pacific stock market held steady despite the introduction of the tariffs. The Shanghai Composite, was up 1.5% and the Hang Seng is up too. In Tokyo the Nikkei is down around 0.8% while the Australian ASX200 is flat.
- The muted response of the markets to the tariff increase may be due to the “grace period”, which means the 25% duty will not be applied to cargoes that left China before 12:01am on Friday. Goods that left Chinese ports and airports before midnight will be subject to the original 10% duty rate and are only applied once those cargoes arrive in the US, effectively meaning there is a window of about three weeks before the tariff comes into effect.
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Previously published May 10, 2019 | The Guardian
