How global is this?
Of the ten best selling U.S. auto exports to China, six are German cars. The real world is not as simple and more complex than conventional impressions.
Source: Bloomberg
It’s hard to unpack the president’s tweet.
According to the South China Morning Post,
China’s tariff on car imports from all over the world was cut to 15 per cent from 25 per cent. But for US cars, China added a 25 per cent tariff over the summer, making the rate 40 per cent. – SCMP
So did China remove the 40 percent, of which 25 percent was in retaliation to the U.S. tariffs, on all U.S. cars, while the U.S. left its tariffs in place with the threat to escalate if negotiations go south? That interpretation should be highly discounted until more clarification.
Traders are going to run with it, however.