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Introduction: China 'considering exempting some goods from US tariffs'
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Hope is swirling this morning that China might relax some of the tariffs it has imposed on US goods as part of Donald Trump’s trade wars.
With the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war hurting Chinese companies, Beijing appears to be seeking to mitigate the economic fallout from the conflict.
According to Bloomberg, this means China’s government is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports – a sign that policymakers are worried about the damage caused by its trade war with Washington.
Bloomberg say:
Authorities are considering removing the additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
Officials are also discussing waiving the tariff for plane leases, the people said. Like many airlines, Chinese carriers don’t own all of their aircraft and pay leasing fees to third-party companies to use some jets — payments that would have become financially ruinous with the additional tariff.
China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports including medical equipment, ethane and plane leasing, sources say https://t.co/Uf9NNQnLAz
— Bloomberg (@business) April 25, 2025This potential easing in the US-China trade conflict comes after Donald Trump revealed yesterday that the world’s two largest economies had held talks to help resolve the trade war.
The US president told reporters:
“We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”
Reuters is also reporting that China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible.
A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, Reuters adds, citing a source.
Signs of de-escalation in the trade war will cheer investors, after a brusing few weeks since Trump announced his tariffs on trading partners.
It could also reassure politicians and central bankers around the world, who fear the consequences of a slowdown in world trade.
As the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, warned on Thursday, the UK economy faces a “growth shock” as a result of Trump’s trade policies.
The agenda
-
7am BST: UK retail sales report for March
-
9.30am BST: UK trade data for Q4 2024
-
3pm BST: University of Michigan’s survey of US consumer confidence
-
3pm BST: IMF holds press conference on the economic outlook for Europe
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FT: Apple aims to source all US iPhones from India in pivot away from China
The US-China trade conflict is forcing companies to rethink their supply chains.
Apple, for example, is reportedly pivoting away from China, which would be a major change to its supply chain.
The Financial Times reports this morning that Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India by as soon as the end of 2026. That would mean doubling the iPhone output in India.
The FT explains:
Apple has in recent years been steadily building capacity in India with contract manufacturers Tata Electronics and Foxconn, though it still assembles most of its smartphones in China.
iPhone assembly is the last step in the production process, bringing together hundreds of components for which Apple is still heavily reliant on Chinese suppliers.
Markets cheered by hopes of US-China de-escalation
Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region are higher today, following those reports that China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports,
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has rallied by 1%, as has South Korea’s KOSPI.
Japan’s Nikkei index has jumped by 1.8%, while China’s CSI 300 share index is up a more modest 0.2%.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, reports that signs of de-escalation of trade tensions are lifting optimism.
Yesterday allowed global risk investors to take a deeper breath. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) members, and de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China allowed a further recovery in global equities.
Optimism was backed today by the Chinese announcement that it is considering easing tariffs on some US imports, further signalling de-escalation of trade tensions and supporting earlier comments from the Trump administration that triple-digit tariffs could come ‘substantially’ down.
Introduction: China 'considering exempting some goods from US tariffs'
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Hope is swirling this morning that China might relax some of the tariffs it has imposed on US goods as part of Donald Trump’s trade wars.
With the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war hurting Chinese companies, Beijing appears to be seeking to mitigate the economic fallout from the conflict.
According to Bloomberg, this means China’s government is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports – a sign that policymakers are worried about the damage caused by its trade war with Washington.
Bloomberg say:
Authorities are considering removing the additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
Officials are also discussing waiving the tariff for plane leases, the people said. Like many airlines, Chinese carriers don’t own all of their aircraft and pay leasing fees to third-party companies to use some jets — payments that would have become financially ruinous with the additional tariff.
China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports including medical equipment, ethane and plane leasing, sources say https://t.co/Uf9NNQnLAz
— Bloomberg (@business) April 25, 2025This potential easing in the US-China trade conflict comes after Donald Trump revealed yesterday that the world’s two largest economies had held talks to help resolve the trade war.
The US president told reporters:
“We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”
Reuters is also reporting that China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible.
A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, Reuters adds, citing a source.
Signs of de-escalation in the trade war will cheer investors, after a brusing few weeks since Trump announced his tariffs on trading partners.
It could also reassure politicians and central bankers around the world, who fear the consequences of a slowdown in world trade.
As the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, warned on Thursday, the UK economy faces a “growth shock” as a result of Trump’s trade policies.
The agenda
-
7am BST: UK retail sales report for March
-
9.30am BST: UK trade data for Q4 2024
-
3pm BST: University of Michigan’s survey of US consumer confidence
-
3pm BST: IMF holds press conference on the economic outlook for Europe
