Lithuanian business representatives say they have noticed Chinese companies more actively offering trade cooperation and lower prices after the US imposed heavy import duties on China, reports Delfi.lt.
According to Kęstutis Černeckas, a member of the council of the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts and chairman of the exporters’ club, the Chinese are increasingly going to Europe to conduct business, and changes are also visible in the price offers.
“Even though Lithuania’s imports from China amount to around 2 billion euros compared to almost 700 billion euros for the EU as a whole, and Lithuania is a very small player for the Chinese, I am now receiving about 20 new offers a day to work together, which I did not have before,” Černeckas said.
Vidmantas Janulevičius, head of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, also said that he had noticed active efforts of the Chinese in Lithuania to cooperate.
“After the US market closes, China’s production capacity remains the same and they are looking for a place to sell... Our companies are feeling that too,” Janulevičius said.
On April 9, when a 20-percent tariff on imports from EU countries to the US was due to take effect, US President Donald Trump declared a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs, imposing a 10-percent baseline tariff on all countries except China.
The overall tariff level imposed by Trump on China is currently 145 percent.
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