US to introduce proposed tariffs on imports from China

The US will move ahead with its plans to introduce tariffs on Chinese imports with effect from July 6.

The Trump administration had originally proposed an additional 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods in a bid to rebalance America’s $375 billion goods trade deficit with the country.

Included in the US tariffs are those on Chinese-built aircraft as well as on component parts of aircraft.

China’s fledgling aerospace industry has seen the design and manufacturer of several smaller airliner type aircraft, although no US airline has yet placed any orders.

When the tariffs were originally announced in early April, China said it would retaliate with a set of its own tariffs.

These included a 25% levy of US built aircraft weighing between 15,000kg and 45,000kg. That would largely affect the Boeing 737 family of airliners but would also include the Gulfstream large-cabin family.

According to the Asian Sky Group’s year-end fleet report, Gulfstream’s large-cabin aircraft are amongst the most people popular aircraft type in operation in China.

The Chinese announcement of the proposed tariffs came on the eve of the 2018 Asian Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (ABACE).

During the show many people expressed their belief that neither set of tariffs would be introduced.

David Dixon, head of Asia at Jetcraft said at the time that the last thing he saw happening would be for Chinese buyers to change their aircraft purchasing plans.

Although the US has announced that the tariffs will come into on July 6, China has not said when it will introduce its own retaliatory levies.