China questions US call for cut on imported farm goods
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Chinese Ministry of Commerce officials said lowering agricultural import tariffs has a limited effect on curbing inflation, in response to a report released by the US International Trade Commission calling for a removal of China's trade barriers.
China, the world's largest producer and consumer of agricultural products, imported 26 percent of its farm imports from U.S. last year, accounting for 14 percent of US farm exports, according to the report.
The report also said although the varieties of China's imports from the U.S. are limited, a removal of its tariffs and non-tariff measures could allow the U.S. to sell $3.9 billion to $5.2 billion more in agricultural exports to China. China should give equal opportunity to US agricultural products by taking more measures to remove trade obstacles, the report urged.
But Chinese officials scoffed at the report, which they said provides a biased, one-sided account of the trade relationship.
"Don't expect a lowered import tax to have much effect on inflation," Bai Ming, a senior analyst at a Ministry of Commerce research institution, said.
The impact on China's domestic agriculture should be clearing observed after opening wider to foreign products, he said, citing soybean prices as an example.
China's Ministry of Finance is considering cutting taxes on imported agricultural products to fight imported inflation caused by rising global commodities prices, Reuters reported in February.
China's business press carried the story above on Friday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
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