(Reuters) -China has granted tariff exemptions on select pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines from its 125% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods imposed after President Donald Trump unleashed his tariffs in April.
It has created a so-called “whitelist” of U.S.-made products that would be exempted from its tariffs, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, and some companies have said they have been able to import to China without paying the duties.
Below are some companies that have said their imports have been free of China’s retaliatory tariffs:
HEALTHCARE
** SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS: CEO Bernd Montag said on May 7 that some of the German medical technology group’s products, such as the so-called reagents in its diagnostics business, had been exempted from Chinese tariffs.
If reagents, substances that cause chemical reactions, were imported with the newly imposed tariffs, their costs would more than double, Montag said in a press call.
** DIASORIN: The Italian diagnostics firm said on May 6 that more often than not, tariffs were not being applied to its goods when they pass customs in China.
** Pharmaceutical companies have reported that they had been able to import some drugs with tariff exemptions, the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce said on April 25.
SEMICONDUCTORS
** A source at a memory chip design firm said on April 25 that the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) had informed it of waivers on imports of eight types of microchips, with analogue chips exempted but not memory chips.
AEROSPACE
** SAFRAN: The head of the French engine maker said on April 25 that China had decided to grant exemptions for some aircraft parts, including jet engines.
CHEMICALS
** China has waived the tariff on ethane imports, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on April 29.
(Compiled by Bernadette Hogg in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
