The Ministry of Commerce responds to the US's exemption of

01. China Announces! Imposes a 125% Tariff on the US

On April 11, the Tariff Commission of the State Council issued a notice on adjusting the measures for imposing additional tariffs on imported goods originating in the United States. The notice states that the additional tariff rate specified in the "Notice of the Tariff Commission of the State Council on Adjusting the Measures for Imposing Additional Tariffs on Imported Goods Originating in the United States" (Announcement No. 5 of the Tariff Commission in 2025) is adjusted, increasing from 84% to 125%. In view of the fact that under the current tariff level, US goods exported to China have no possibility of being accepted by the market. If the US continues to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US subsequently, China will ignore it.

02. The United States: Removes "Reciprocal Tariffs" on Some Goods

On the evening of April 11, local time, the US Customs and Border Protection announced that the federal government has agreed to remove the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on electronic products such as smartphones, computers, and chips. Documents released by the Customs and Border Protection show that these products are excluded from the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the government on its trading partners. The documents show that the exempted products apply to electronic products entering the United States after April 5, and those who have already paid the "reciprocal tariffs" can seek a refund.

On April 12, local time, US President Trump said that he would announce the details of the tariffs on semiconductors on Monday. Previously, on April 11, the China Semiconductor Industry Association issued an urgent notice on the "place of origin" determination rules for semiconductor products. The "place of origin" of integrated circuits is determined according to the principle of a change in the four-digit tariff code, that is, the place of wafer fabrication is determined as the place of origin. This means that some semiconductor products fabricated in the United States may increase in price due to the impact of tariffs.

Comment: Analysts believe that this marks a "180-degree turn" in the US government's tariff policy. This tariff exemption is expected to alleviate the price impact of tariffs on US consumers to a certain extent, and consumer electronics giants such as Apple and Samsung may benefit from it; the US technology industry has temporarily escaped the brink of collapse.

The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce Answers Reporters' Questions Regarding the US's Exemption of "Reciprocal Tariffs" on Some Products

A reporter asked: The US recently announced the exemption of "reciprocal tariffs" on some products. What is China's comment on this?

Answer: On April 12, Eastern Time in the United States, the US announced the relevant memorandum, exempting some products such as computers, smartphones, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and integrated circuits from the "reciprocal tariffs". China is currently evaluating the relevant impacts.

We have noticed that this is the second adjustment of the relevant policies by the US following the suspension of imposing high "reciprocal tariffs" on some trading partners on April 10. It should be said that this is a small step for the US to correct its wrong practice of imposing unilateral "reciprocal tariffs".

Issuing the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" through an executive order not only violates the basic economic and market laws but also ignores the complementary cooperation and supply-demand relationship between countries. Since the "reciprocal tariffs" were introduced on April 2, they have not solved any problems of the US itself. Instead, they have seriously disrupted the international economic and trade order, seriously interfered with the normal production, operation, and people's consumption, harming others without benefiting oneself.

China's position on Sino-US economic and trade relations is consistent. There are no winners in a trade war, and protectionism has no way out. As an old Chinese saying goes, "It is the person who tied the bell that should untie it." We urge the US to face up to the rational voices from the international community and all parties within the country, take a big step in correcting its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of imposing "reciprocal tariffs", and return to the right path of resolving differences through mutual respect and equal dialogue.

03. China's New Social Financing in March Reached 5.89 Trillion Yuan, and New RMB Loans Reached 3.64 Trillion Yuan

On April 13, the latest financial and social financing data released by the People's Bank of China showed that in the first quarter of this year, RMB loans increased by 9.78 trillion yuan, of which new RMB loans in March reached 3.64 trillion yuan. Preliminary statistics show that the cumulative increase in social financing in the first quarter was 15.18 trillion yuan, of which the increase in the scale of social financing in March was 5.89 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.06 trillion yuan year-on-year.

In the first quarter, the scale of new social financing was at a relatively high level, especially the level of new credit and social financing in March exceeded market expectations. Industry experts analyzed that while the financial system continues to increase the intensity of monetary and credit investment, there have been more positive changes on the capital demand side of enterprises, residents, etc., jointly driving the rebound in the loan growth rate in March.

04. Support for the Sports Industry! The People's Bank of China, the CSRC, etc. Jointly Released

On April 11, the official website of the People's Bank of China showed that the People's Bank of China and other four departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Financial Support for the High-quality Development of the Sports Industry". The "Opinions" emphasized that it is necessary to give full play to the financing function of the bond market, build an equity financing model with efficient capital allocation, improve the level of insurance protection for the development of the sports industry, provide flexible financial leasing services, support leading enterprises, brands, and projects to "go global", and provide diversified and comprehensive financial services for the development of the sports industry. Strengthen information communication and coordination and cooperation among departments, strengthen the coordination and cooperation of monetary policy, fiscal policy, industrial policy, and regulatory policy, improve the sharing of credit information, do a good job in statistical monitoring, and strengthen the publicity and interpretation of policies.

05. Shanghai Announces: Expansion of the Subsidy Scope

On April 12, the official WeChat account of "Shanghai Commerce" announced that in order to further do a good job in the work of trading in old cars for new ones in 2025, Shanghai will expand the scope of subsidies for car replacement and renewal to old cars with out-of-province license plates. It is clearly stated that from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, individual consumers who purchase new new energy passenger cars worth more than 100,000 yuan (inclusive) and transfer the passenger cars registered in other provinces and cities under their names within the specified time limit will be given a one-time fixed subsidy of 15,000 yuan. From January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, individual consumers who purchase new fuel passenger cars worth more than 100,000 yuan (inclusive) that meet the National VIb emission standard and transfer the eligible fuel passenger cars registered in other provinces and cities under their names within the specified time limit will be given a one-time fixed subsidy of 13,000 yuan.

Comment: Analysts believe that the policy of trading in old cars for new ones continues to show its effectiveness. With the intensive launch of new products by enterprises and the superposition of diversified promotional activities, the passenger car market has continued its good momentum. The sales volume at the wholesale end of manufacturers has grown rapidly, and the terminal sales volume has gradually recovered.

06. Buffett Suddenly Takes Action

Berkshire Hathaway, owned by the "God of Stocks" Warren Buffett, recently issued a bond worth a total of 90 billion yen (approximately 4.6 billion yuan). Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that this is the smallest yen transaction by Buffett's company since it entered the Japanese market in 2019.

Comment: Against the backdrop of market turbulence, this bond issuance has received high attention from the market because the funds raised by Berkshire may be used to increase its shareholdings in Japanese companies. Some analysts said that as the stock prices have fallen, the valuations of the five major trading houses have all declined, and Berkshire may continue to increase its shareholdings in the five major trading houses in the future.

07. The Nasdaq Rose by More Than 2%, and the Gold Price Reached a New All-time High Again

As of the close on April 11, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.56%; the S&P 500 rose by 1.81%; the Nasdaq rose by 2.06%. Large technology stocks generally rose. Apple rose by more than 4%, NVIDIA rose by more than 3%, and Google and Amazon rose by more than 2%. Most chip stocks rose. Broadcom and AMD rose by more than 5%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose by nearly 4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 1.73%. Chinese new energy vehicle stocks listed in the US soared. XPeng Motors rose by more than 11%, and NIO rose by more than 7%.

The international gold price reached a new all-time high. As of the close, the settlement price of COMEX gold futures rose by 2.11%, closing at $3,244.60 per ounce. The international oil price rose. As of the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 2.38%; the price of London Brent crude oil futures for June delivery rose by 2.26%.

Comment: Some analysts said that the key hints from Fed officials alleviated the panic sentiment in the US stock market. Boston Fed President Collins said that if there is chaos in the financial market, the Fed is "absolutely ready" to use its policy tools to stabilize the market. On the same day, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase and known as the "King of Wall Street", also said that if there is "chaos" in the US Treasury bond market, it will prompt the Fed to intervene.

08. Preview: A Number of Economic Data for the First Quarter Will Be Released; The Fed Will Speak Intensively

The State Council Information Office will hold a regular press conference on the economic data for the first quarter at 10:00 am on Monday, April 14, 2025. Wang Lingjun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, will introduce the import and export situation in the first quarter of 2025 and answer reporters' questions.

On April 16, the National Bureau of Statistics will release economic data such as GDP for the first quarter, industrial added value in March, fixed asset investment, and total retail sales of social consumer goods.

Regarding the external situation, according to the schedule, on Thursday, April 17, Fed Chairman Powell will deliver a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago. The market expects that he may express his latest views on topics such as the path of monetary policy, the impact of tariff policies, and the recent turmoil in the US Treasury bond market, which will provide investors with the latest reference for monetary policy. This week (April 14 - April 18), Fed Governor Waller, Fed Governor Cook, Philadelphia Fed President Harker, Cleveland Fed President Mester, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, and Richmond Fed President Barkin will also give speeches. Investors will look for any clues about interest rate cuts from the intensive speeches of Fed policymakers.

09. IPO Registration and New Share Subscription

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the IPO registration of one enterprise on the main board. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the initial public offering of shares and registration of Suzhou Huazhijie Telecommunications Co., Ltd. on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

This week (April 14 - April 18), there are 3 new shares to be issued. On Monday: Tianyouwei; on Tuesday: Zhongjie Automobile, Jiangshun Technology.

10. More Than 12.2 Billion Yuan Worth of Restricted Shares Will Be Unlocked This Week

Data shows that this week (April 14 - April 18), a total of 40 companies' restricted shares will be unlocked successively, with a total unlocking volume of 878 million shares. Calculated based on the closing price on April 11, the market value of the unlocked shares is 12.279 billion yuan.

In terms of the market value of the unlocked shares, the top three are: Zhuozhao Dispensing (1.799 billion yuan), Vanchip (1.753 billion yuan), and Knight Dairy (1.289 billion yuan).

In terms of the proportion of unlocked shares, the top three are: Zhuozhao Dispensing (71.66%), Knight Dairy (46.54%), and Lichen Industrial (29.6%).

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