China exempts tariffs on US imports used to fight NCoV

Beijing, Feb 2 (IANS) China announced tax exemptions on supplies imported from the US to fight the coronavirus outbreak, that has killed 304 people in the Asian giant, adding that it would provide financial aid to companies to soften the effects of the crisis on the country's economy.

The decision made on Saturday by the Ministry of Finance whereby these products, which have been subject to additional tariffs during the trade war between China and the US, will be exempt from tariffs until the end of March, reports Efe news agency.

The products that will have tariff exemptions include reagents, sterilization items, protective supplies, ambulances, disinfection vehicles and emergency command vehicles.

In addition, the tariffs collected on these imported supplies since January 1 and before the announcement will be refunded.

The Ministry said that due to the health crisis, which has also infected a total of 14,380 people, medical supplies and materials were scarce, especially in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, as well as in other cities in Hubei province.

The exemption will also apply to donations and products from the US and from around the world.

The statement, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, added that, in order to fight the virus and amid domestic and international donations the ministry decided to impose a more preferential tariff policy.

Since the outbreak, many countries, companies and institutions have shown support for China with material or money donations, including $10 million from the US' Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research and relief supplies.

However, US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Friday that it would temporarily prohibit the entry into the country foreigners who had visited China in the last 14 days to prevent the spread of the disease.

China and the US are involved in negotiations to put an end to the trade war between the two economic powers and a few weeks ago concluded a first-phase agreement, but the dialog now could possibly be marred after the health crisis was declared as an international emergency by the World Health Organization.

In addition to the fiscal measure, the People's Bank of China and several other departments on Saturday announced a series of measures to ease the consequences of the crisis, which, according to experts could be dire for small businesses in particular.

Due to the crisis, the country announced an extension of the New Year holidays by a week, which consequently paralyzed factory production, while thousands of businesses have been affected due to cities coming to a standstill after the government advised people to stay indoors to contain the outbreak.