China quietly exempts about a quarter of US imports from tariffs: Sources

– China has quietly started to exempt some US goods from tariffs that likely cover around US$40 billion (S$51.9 billion) worth of imports, in what looks like an effort to soften the blow of the trade war on its own economy. It is unclear where the list came from and it has not been officially confirmed, but at least half a dozen companies in China have been able to bring in goods from the list without paying tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Chinese officials began asking foreign companies as early as the second week of April to name the US imports that are essential to their operations and cannot be replaced easily, said the people.