Eye On China: Trade Surplus, Tax Cuts, Falling Crude Steel Output
- China’s trade surplus with the United States grew 17 percent between December 2017 and December to hit $323.32 billion. It was the broadest deficit between the two countries dating to 2006. Exports to the United States increased 11.3 percent year-over-year while imports from the United States to China rose 0.7 percent over the same period.
- According to the China Iron and Steel Association, crude steel output in the country fell to 1.78 million tons in late December from 1.84 million tons (three percent) in mid-December.
- According to Bloomberg, as the economy slows, the country will cut taxes for small and micro-sized companies by $29 billion a year for three years. The cuts will include reductions to the corporate income tax, the value-added tax, and other corporate taxes.