(Yicai Global) Aug. 21 -- The United States is holding six days of public hearings for its proposed tariffs on USD200 billion worth of Chinese goods as the world's four biggest economies ramp up trade talks.

The hearings began in Washington yesterday to discuss US President Donald Trump's plans to levy duties of up to 25 percent on a plethora of Chinese products as part of the Section 301 investigation. The talks coincide with a three-way discussion between the US, the European Union and China and another between the US, the EU and Japan.

A public hearing on this scale is not unprecedented, but it is rare, said Zhou Shizhen, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University's research center for China-US relations. In the past, these things usually last about three days, he added. The latest hearings were originally planned to last three days but the Office of the US Trade Representative extended them to cater to the vast number of interested parties.

The center of the hearings will be based around three main points. Whether the list of products should be shortened or made longer, whether the tariff rate should be higher or lower and general views of how much tax should be collected in total.

Around 358 delegates are expected to take part, hailing from 46 groups including American companies, trade associations, lobbying organizations, law institutes and law schools.

"More and more people are becoming concerned about trade conflicts in the United States. If more people who object, more people will sign up," said Zhou.

The US and EU also held their first 'zero tariff' talks yesterday. Two senior officials from Europe headed to Washington after the EU agreed to co-finance 14 infrastructure projects for liquefied natural gas worth over EUR638 million (USD735 million) and unveiled plans to increase import quotas for American LNG as long as market conditions and the price are right.

Editor: James Boynton