WASHINGTON, August 11. /TASS/. Chinese military exercises around Taiwan have prompted the US to put off for now the options it considered for changing import tariffs on Chinese goods, Reuters reported, citing sources.
The US government has been considering for months what it could do about duties imposed on Chinese
imports by former President Donald Trump. The options included eliminating some tariffs, launching a new investigation into potential areas for additional tariffs, and expanding a list of tariff exclusions to aid U.S. companies.
Beijing’s response U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has prompted the US to push these options aside for the time being. The report said the US administration is eager not to do anything that could be viewed by China as an escalation while also seeking to avoid being seen as yielding to pressure.
"I think Taiwan has changed everything," one source said.
A White House spokesperson said US President Joe Biden hasn’t made a decision on the tariffs.
"Nothing has been shelved or put on hold, and all options remain on the table," the spokesperson said. "The only person who will make the decision is the president - and he will do so based on what is in our interests."
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington told Reuters that economic and trade relations between the two countries faced "severe" challenges.
"The (Pelosi) visit has undermined the political foundation of the China-US relations and will inevitably cause major disruption to the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides," Liu Pengyu said.