China is quietly exempting numerous U.S. imports from its retaliatory tariff on American goods, a sign that the Chinese economy is taking a hit in the trade war with the Trump administration, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
A list circulating among businesses shows that 131 items, including pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals, are not being slapped by China’s tariff as multiple companies have been able to get the products into China without paying a duty, according to Bloomberg. The unconfirmed list makes up 24% of Chinese imports from the United States, worth around $40 billion.
The report comes shortly after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China’s economy “is slowing down substantially,” adding, “They are the most unbalanced, imbalanced economy in the history of the world.”
“We saw some very poor [gross domestic product] numbers out of China yesterday….
