China debates scrapping longstanding auto import duties

China is considering cutting import duties on passenger cars by approximately 50% according to a report on Thursday.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, are alleged to be considering slashing the current 25% tariff to between 10% and 15% according to sources cited by Bloomberg, and an announcement on the matter is could be made as soon as next month.

However, China has also threatened to place an additional 25% import duty on American made automobiles as part of the back-and-forth with the USA, so the move is more likely to benefit European and Asian manufacturers.

As such the move would provide a significant boost to the country’s top import brands BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus, which is owned by Toyota.

Foreign car makers have long sought increased access to the Chinese car market which saw sales of 28.9m automobiles last year but imported just 1.2m, or 4.2%, of those.