These cuts are not “token” by any means. There is a 27% reduction here which is major by any measure.
I’ll state again, in case some missed my qualifier to this development:
The story does not indicate that these cuts will be on U.S. imports. In fact, it implies that the trade war with the U.S. will escalate. Not sure what to believe here, just yet.
“These cuts are not “token” by any means.”
3% is pretty easily overcome somewhere else - a slight currency devaluation, a new license or inspection requirement on the foreign competitor, a tax exemption for the domestic competitor, etc.
3% is not going to fundamentally alter the trade balance, and it is not going to to stop the wholesale theft of Intellectual Property. In the big picture, it is merely a token.