A new trade deal between China and the United States could end tariffs on as much as a trillion dollars in annual global sales of high-tech goods, eliminating tariffs as high as 25 per cent on some next-generation semiconductors. According to trade negotiators, the preliminary deal still requires approval of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which could take up the issue as early as December.

The deal was the result of off-and-on negotiations since 2012 to expand the 17-year-old Information Technology Act. The deal would eliminate tariffs on as many as 200 product areas including medical equipment, GPS devices, video game consoles, computer software, and next-generation chips.

The taxes ranged from as much as 30 per cent on solid-state drives and video game consoles to 8 per cent on magnetic resonance imaging machines and computed tomography scanners.

The White House issued a statement estimating the deal would end tariffs on $100 billion worth of products from U.S. companies, potentially opening up 60,000 new jobs.

"Today's agreement between the U.S. and China to expand the ITA is a hard-fought victory for the US semiconductor industry and a big win for the U.S. economy and consumers around the world," said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association, in a statement.

By: DocMemory
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