US exports to China fall 23.5%
Exports of products from the United States to China registered an interannual fall of 23.5% in March, to 7.972 million dollars, the Census Office reported on Tuesday.
The result occurs while the United States has threatened China to impose more tariffs if this Asian country does not comply with the so-called Phase 1 of an agreement to begin ending the trade war between the two powers.
On January 15, as part of Phase 1, China promised to increase imports of US goods and services by at least $ 200 billion. China’s increase in imports from the United States will take place in the next two years, and the trajectory is expected to continue even after 2021.
While some U.S. stakeholders support President Donald Trump’s use of unilateral tariffs as they result in a more level playing field for U.S. companies, many have expressed concern about its possible negative economic implications and its impact on America’s allies.
In the cumulative of the first quarter of 2020, US merchandise exports to the Chinese market totaled $ 22,002 million, a decrease of 15.4%, at the annual rate.
Exports and friction
The Chinese government intentionally concealed the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic from the international community while storing imports and reducing exports of personal protective equipment, according to a report by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an administration official familiar with the document. .
«China likely cut its exports of medical supplies before its January notification to the WHO (World Health Organization) that Covid-19 was contagious,» the report said, a source told CNN.
The report, which evaluated export and import data earlier this year, was released to the federal government last Friday, the source said. ABC first reported its existence.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that China strove to hide the extent of the spread of the coronavirus.
«You have the correct data,» Pompeo told ABC «This Week» when asked if China intentionally stored medical supplies in early January while hiding the severity of covid-19. «We can confirm that the Chinese Communist Party did everything possible to ensure that the world did not know in time what was happening.»
More tariffs?
Trump threatened to end phase one if China does not spend the deal on American agricultural products.
«We are going to have to see what happens with the purchase of products because of what has happened (the coronavirus). They took advantage of our country. Now they have to buy, and if they do not, we will end the agreement. It’s that simple» Trump said this Sunday.
