US on the Road to
China for a Deal
A
group of senior Biden administration officials is traveling to Shanghai this week
for a round of high-level meetings intended to keep the economic relationship between
the United States and China on stable footing amid mounting trade tensions between
the two countries, the New York Times reported.
The
talks will take place on Thursday and Friday and are being convened through the
U.S.-China Financial Working Group, which was created last year. Officials are expected
to discuss ways to maintain economic and financial stability, capital markets and
efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
Although
communication between the United States and China has improved over the past year,
the economic relationship remains fraught because of disagreements over industrial
policy and China’s dominance over green energy technology. The Biden administration
imposed new tariffs in May on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles,
solar cells, semiconductors and advanced batteries. The United States is also restricting
American investments in Chinese sectors that policymakers believe could threaten
national security.
The
U.S. delegation, which departed on Monday, is being led by Brent Neiman, the Treasury
Department’s assistant secretary for international finance. He will be joined by
officials from the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. They
are expected to meet with the People’s Bank of China’s deputy governor, Xuan Changneng, and other senior Chinese officials.
“We
intend for this F.W.G. meeting to include conversations on financial stability,
issues related to cross-border data, lending and payments, private-sector efforts
to advance transition finance, and concrete steps we can take to improve communication
in the event of financial stress,” Mr. Neiman said ahead of the trip, referring
to the abbreviation for the financial working group.
India's
leading steelmakers' body wants the government to impose an export tax on low-grade
iron ore and pellets to address local shortages, according to a letter by the Indian
Steel Association (ISA).
India,
the world's fourth-largest producer of the steel-making ingredient, targets to double
its steel output to 300 million metric tonnes per year by 2030 to aid its economic
expansion and infrastructure development.
The
ISA has sought a 20% export tax on low grade ore that has less than 58% iron content,
and a 10% export tax on all iron ore pellets, it said in a July 17 letter to the
federal Ministry of Steel.
China
typically accounts for more than 90% of India's overall iron ore exports.
The
ISA estimates shortages of the steelmaking ingredient in India would rise to more
than 100 million metric tonnes per year in the coming years compared to the present
55 million metric tonnes. India currently does not tax exports of low-grade iron
ore, but levies a 30% export duty on high-grade iron ore.
That
has led to some companies blending higher-grade and lower-quality ore for exports,
said the ISA, whose members include major producers such as ArcelorMittal Nippon
Steel India, Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel and Tata Steel. Official data shows
that India primarily exports low grade iron ore.