China considers exempting some goods from U.S. tariffs, source says

China considers exempting U.S. imports from tariffs, seeks business input, signaling economic concerns amid trade war.

China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to provide lists of goods that could be eligible in the biggest sign yet that Beijing is worried about the economic fallout from its trade war with Washington.

A Ministry of Commerce task force is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Financial news magazine Caijing reported on Friday, citing sources, that Beijing was preparing to include eight semiconductor-related items, although no memory chips.

A list of 131 categories of products eligible for exemptions was circulating widely on social media and among businesses and trade groups on Friday. Reuters could not verify the list, whose items ranged from vaccines and chemicals to jet engines.

Repeated phone calls to China's customs department were not answered. Customs and the Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to faxed questions.

Bloomberg first reported China was considering tariff exemptions on Friday.

The exemptions signal that, like Washington, Beijing is deeply concerned about the economic pain rippling across the country as the world's two largest economies decouple.