Latest news with #MichaelHart
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
AmCham President Says China Isn't Blocking Rare Earths Exports
China has been slowly loosening the grip on its exports of rare earths over the past week, according to a lobby group for American businesses, after top US officials complained it hadn't been removing barriers as promised. 'We are seeing some approvals come through — certainly slower than industry would like,' said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. 'Some of the delay is related to China working through their new system to approve exports, not that they are not allowing exports.'
Epoch Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
After Freezing Out Boeing, Beijing Appeals to US Companies
China's commerce ministry said on April 29 that the regime is willing to support normal business cooperation with American companies, days after Chinese airlines canceled Boeing aircraft orders amid a tariff standoff with the United States. The Chinese commerce ministry also blamed the halt in plane deliveries on U.S. tariff hikes. It urged Washington to 'listen to businesses' and restore 'a stable, predictable environment for trade and investment,' claiming tariffs had undermined the stability of global industry and supply chains and disrupted the air-transport market. U.S. officials have not responded to the latest statement publicly. The plea came just days after the Chinese regime ordered Chinese airlines to suspend purchases of Boeing aircraft and returned three newly built 737 MAX jets to the United States. The planes—two for Xiamen Airlines and one for Air China—have already been flown back, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed last week that Chinese airlines have stopped accepting deliveries. Related Stories 2/28/2025 1/19/2025 While retaliating against U.S. duties, Beijing is quietly compiling a list of U.S.-made goods to be exempted from its own 125 percent retaliatory tariffs and has asked companies to identify critical imports they need duty-free, according to American Chamber of Commerce in China President Michael Hart. Hart said that tariff waivers already cover some pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, the chief executive of French aircraft engine maker Safran said that Beijing had granted tariff exemptions on 'a certain number of aerospace equipment parts,' including engines and landing gear. In a separate, low-key step to blunt the trade-war fallout, Chinese regulators published a revised 'negative list' on April 24 that trims the number of sectors closed or restricted to foreign investors to 106 from 117. The new list effectively opens 11 additional industries to overseas capital at a time when U.S. tariffs are adding strain to an economy already hobbled by weak consumption and a deep property-sector debt crisis. Since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, the United States has raised duties on Chinese goods by 145 percent, pushing effective rates on some items to 245 percent. In response, Beijing imposed a blanket 125 percent tariff on U.S. imports. Boeing Shrugs Off the Standoff—for Now Boeing Although the first-quarter figures do not yet reflect China's freeze, the Trump administration in March The major government contract likely contributed to the company's optimistic outlook. During the first-quarter earnings call on April 23, Boeing's CEO said jets once earmarked for China can be redirected 'to people who want them,' noting that the order backlog now tops $500 billion. 'We are not going to continue to build airplanes for customers who will not take them,' he U.S.-based economist Davy J. Wong told The Epoch Times that Beijing's decision to block Boeing deliveries amounts to 'strategic self-harm.' He said China's home-grown C919 airliner still relies on U.S. and European avionics, engines, and hydraulics, making a full decoupling impossible. Politically driven cancellations could stall C919 production and maintenance, 'deepening doubts about the reliability of China's aviation market,' Wong said, adding that lessors, financiers, insurers, and suppliers might now reassess China's stability as a long-term partner. 'Most of China's fleet is still Boeing,' Wong said, noting that cutting off access to maintenance, parts, and upgrades would drive up costs and strain the entire civil aviation system. He said a litmus test would be Xiamen Airlines, a near-exclusive Boeing operator. If its orders are fully canceled, the dispute will have moved beyond tariffs into 'a full confrontation over industrial leadership and geostrategic positioning,' an escalation Beijing may not actually want, he said. Shen Ming-shih, a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times that the Chinese cancellation of aircraft delivery will sting less than Beijing hopes. 'Global demand for the 737 MAX remains strong, production slots are sold out for years, while China accounts for only about 10 percent of Boeing's commercial backlog,' he said, meaning Boeing can likely place the returned jets with new buyers quickly. Cheng Mulan, Luo Ya, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China Quietly Giving Tariff Exemptions: AmCham China's Michael Hart
China is giving tariff exemptions to some companies in the IT, healthcare, and aviation sectors, American Chamber of Commerce in China President Michael Hart tells Bloomberg. Chinese officials have also asked companies to identify critical imports that would be difficult to source from other countries. Hart speaks as Chinese policymakers try to reassure the public that they will take measures to aid growth as record US tariffs dent the economy's outlook. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Australian
26-04-2025
- Business
- The Australian
China quietly exempts some US-made products from tariffs
China's government has exempted some US imports that the country would struggle to immediately source from elsewhere from its retaliatory tariffs, people familiar with the matter said. Chinese authorities have told some importers of American goods that they would waive the most recent 125 per cent increases in tariff rates for certain US imports. Those products include certain semiconductors and chip-making equipment, medical products and aviation parts, the people said. The carve-outs highlight points of vulnerability for China's economy. Many Chinese industries, particularly in advanced technology, aerospace and pharmaceuticals, remain reliant on American-made inputs. The Trump administration, similarly, announced exemptions on its 'reciprocal tariffs' for China-made smartphones, laptops and other electronics earlier this month, a recognition of the US's reliance on China for such goods. When Trump levelled a cumulative 20 per cent in additional levies on all Chinese imports early on in his second term, Beijing responded with targeted tariffs on some US imports, including energy products and certain vehicles. It didn't slap across-the-board tariffs on US goods until Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs on April 2, which applied an additional 34 per cent on all Chinese goods. After that, Beijing matched each of Trump's subsequent tariff increases, bringing its current tariff level to 125 per cent on all US goods. Two semiconductor traders said Chinese customs had lifted tariffs on eight categories of US-made chips, including central-processing units, starting on April 24. Chinese authorities haven't removed tariffs on US memory chips, they said. Many chip products developed by Intel and Texas Instruments are exempt from the tariffs, while some US-made products of memory-chip maker Micron Technology will continue to be subject to the duties, they said. Beijing has prepared a list of US imports from which it plans to remove the tariffs, some of the people said. The goods being considered also include some industrial chemicals such as quartz and ethane, as well as lithography machines, helicopters and vaccines, they said. They cautioned that the list could change as discussions proceed. As the tariff war between Washington and Beijing has escalated, Chinese officials have been surveying companies and industry groups to understand what US goods should be exempted from tariffs to protect China's own interests, the people said. Still, Beijing has refrained from publicly announcing its tariff exemptions so as not to reveal its structural vulnerabilities while also leaving space for future adjustment and negotiation, one of the people said. The Chinese effort has involved several government bodies, with co-ordination overseen by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, the country's cabinet. 'They want to make sure the Chinese tariffs don't harm their economy,' said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, whose members include Boeing, Honeywell and Qualcomm. Hart said Beijing had been asking US firms doing business in China what components they import from America that they can't get elsewhere. Hart said that pharmaceutical companies were reporting anecdotally that some of their shipments to China were also exempted from the 125 per cent levies on all US goods. 'China still has the 125 per cent tariffs in place, but appears to be making specific exemptions for products that are critical for them and their economy,' Hart said. 'Assuming we have understood this correctly, it tells us China is clearly mapping and managing their supply chain to keep out US products that have other substitutes, but allowing in those they need and can't replace at present.' China's aviation regulator has instructed some airlines to halt receiving aircraft and components from the US The exemption on aircraft parts, such as engines, will allow the country to continue with aircraft maintenance and manufacturing. China has a homegrown plane maker, Comac, that remains reliant on foreign supply chains. In recent weeks, at least three Boeing aircraft set to be delivered to China's Xiamen Airlines and Air China have flown back to the US Chinese officials are also weighing whether to waive tariffs for Chinese carriers that lease jets from the US, one of the people said. Olivier Andries, chief executive of Safran, a French aerospace-industry supplier, told analysts on an earnings call Friday that China was exempting tariffs on deliveries of engines, landing gear and other parts. Wall Street Journal Read related topics: China Ties The Wall Street Journal Washington opposes Tehran's insistence on retaining the ability to enrich uranium, as two sides begin third round of talks. The Wall Street Journal Plans to brief the billionaire businessman were scrapped over ethics concerns and confusion over who ordered it.
Mint
26-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
China quietly exempts some US-made products from tariffs
BEIJING—China's government has exempted some U.S. imports that the country would struggle to immediately source from elsewhere from its retaliatory tariffs, people familiar with the matter said. Chinese authorities have told some importers of American goods that they would waive the most recent 125% increases in tariff rates for certain U.S. imports. Those products include certain semiconductors and chipmaking equipment, medical products and aviation parts, the people said. The carve-outs highlight points of vulnerability for China's economy. Many Chinese industries, particularly in advanced technology, aerospace and pharmaceuticals, remain reliant on American-made inputs. The Trump administration, similarly, announced exemptions on its 'reciprocal tariffs" for China-made smartphones, laptops and other electronics earlier this month, a recognition of the U.S.'s reliance on China for such goods. When Trump leveled a cumulative 20% in additional levies on all Chinese imports early on in his second term, Beijing responded with targeted tariffs on some U.S. imports, including energy products and certain vehicles. It didn't slap across-the-board tariffs on U.S. goods until Trump's 'Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, which applied an additional 34% on all Chinese goods. After that, Beijing matched each of Trump's subsequent tariff increases, bringing its current tariff level to 125% on all U.S. goods. Two semiconductor traders said Chinese customs had lifted tariffs on eight categories of U.S.-made chips, including central-processing units, starting on April 24. Chinese authorities haven't removed tariffs on U.S. memory chips, they said. Many chip products developed by Intel and Texas Instruments are exempt from the tariffs, while some U.S.-made products of memory-chip maker Micron Technology will continue to be subject to the duties, they said. Beijing has prepared a list of U.S. imports from which it plans to remove the tariffs, some of the people said. The goods being considered also include some industrial chemicals such as quartz and ethane, as well as lithography machines, helicopters and vaccines, they said. They cautioned that the list could change as discussions proceed. As the tariff war between Washington and Beijing has escalated, Chinese officials have been surveying companies and industry groups to understand what U.S. goods should be exempted from tariffs to protect China's own interests, the people said. Still, Beijing has refrained from publicly announcing its tariff exemptions so as not to reveal its structural vulnerabilities while also leaving space for future adjustment and negotiation, one of the people said. The Chinese effort has involved several government bodies, with coordination overseen by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, the country's cabinet. 'They want to make sure the Chinese tariffs don't harm their economy," said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, whose members include Boeing, Honeywell and Qualcomm. Hart said Beijing had been asking U.S. firms doing business in China what components they import from America that they can't get elsewhere. Hart said that pharmaceutical companies were reporting anecdotally that some of their shipments to China were also exempted from the 125% levies on all U.S. goods. 'China still has the 125% tariffs in place, but appears to be making specific exemptions for products that are critical for them and their economy," Hart said. 'Assuming we have understood this correctly, it tells us China is clearly mapping and managing their supply chain to keep out U.S. products that have other substitutes, but allowing in those they need and can't replace at present." China's aviation regulator has instructed some airlines to halt receiving aircraft and components from the U.S. The exemption on aircraft parts, such as engines, will allow the country to continue with aircraft maintenance and manufacturing. China has a homegrown plane maker, Comac, that remains reliant on foreign supply chains. In recent weeks, at least three Boeing aircraft set to be delivered to China's Xiamen Airlines and Air China have flown back to the U.S. Chinese officials are also weighing whether to waive tariffs for Chinese carriers that lease jets from the U.S., one of the people said. Olivier Andries, chief executive of Safran, a French aerospace-industry supplier, told analysts on an earnings call Friday that China was exempting tariffs on deliveries of engines, landing gear and other parts. Write to Jonathan Cheng at
