China plans to reduce the average tariff rate on imports from most of its trading partners as soon as October, Bloomberg reports. In July, China cut import tariffs on almost 1,500 consumer products ranging from light vehicles, cosmetics to home appliances as part of efforts to open up its economy, the world's second biggest. The move was in line with Beijing's pledge to its trading partners - including the United States - that it would take measures to further increase imports. The Bloomberg report on Thursday did not specify the countries that could enjoy lower Chinese tariffs. At the World Economic Forum in the northern port city of Tianjin, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that the government will continue to lower import tariffs on some goods. He did not elaborate. The promise to further lower import tariffs came as China and the United Stated remained locked in a bitter trade dispute that has roiled financial markets and cast uncertainty over global supply chains.
American carmakers are losing ground in a shrinking Chinese market, and their problems are mostly tied to a lack of competitiveness rather than the trade war, an industry trade group said. The market share of U.S. brands fell to 10.7 percent in the first eight months of 2018 from 12.2 percent a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The drop was caused by companies including Ford Motor Co. not refreshing their lineups in a timely manner, Xu Haidong, the association's assistant secretary general, said Tuesday. While a slowing economy is weighing on the Chinese car demand, Xu said that the trade war has had a limited impact on the market. There are no anti-American sentiments or boycotting of U.S. brands by China's car buyers, he said at a media conference in Beijing.