China ends tariffs on cars imported from US.

The trade dispute affecting the Chinese and US auto industries may be cooling off, as the Asian country has announced an end to controversial duties levied on some American-made vehicles. According to Reuters, this was largely in retaliation to US import tariffs on Chinese-made tires in 2009.

Following that incident, China levied tariffs on nearly 80 percent of vehicles made in the US and sold in the People's Republic, with some cars getting nailed with 22-percent import duties. The vehicles included cars and SUVs with 2.5-liter engines and larger, and even affected vehicles from non-US brands like BMW andMercedes that were built in the US and then shipped to China. The duties were ostensibly enacted after China accused American manufacturers of accepting government subsidies and dumping vehicles into the PRC, harming the country's automotive industry.

The news, while far from meaning an end to the past few years of acrimonious trade relations between the US and China, is at least a sign that those relations might be improving.

Source:Reuters