Chinese petroleum coke importers received approval from the central government today for tariffs exemptions on US petroleum coke, amid easing trade tensions and mounting pressure on Chinese economic growth during the coronavirus outbreak.
At least two importers confirmed they had been granted an exemption on retaliatory tariffs imposed on US coke since the start of the US-China trade war in August 2018. Both firms said they had applied for only one cargo and will file a new application for each future transaction.
The exemption will lower the tariff for green petroleum coke with more than 3pc sulphur to 3pc, the level before August 2018, from a previous 30.5pc. Tariffs on US petroleum coke with no more than 3pc sulphur will also be lowered to 3pc from 28pc.
A anode-grade importer said it was also going to apply for the tariff cut, with it confident of an approval.
Beijing said last week it will grant 12-month exemptions on retaliatory tariffs on US imports for almost 700 goods. Calcined coke was not included in the list of goods eligible for an exemption, but companies can still submit an application for exemptions on non-listed products, providing an explanation as to how the tariffs have affected their business.
Exemptions are expected to boost China cfr coke prices, although an increase could partly be limited by subdued demand in most industries because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Chinese authorities expect manufacturing activity to strongly recover in this year's second quarter, which could boost demand for imported fuels as domestic production has fallen significantly since the start of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak.
