The United States and China on Monday released reciprocal lists of products worth about $30 billion that will see tariff cuts, taking a step toward fulfilling a key outcome of last week’s summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington.
Under the arrangement, each side recommended $30 billion of trade in non-sensitive goods for more favorable tariff treatment, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. The lists covered 1,619 U.S. products entering China and 77 categories of Chinese goods entering the United States, with tariffs on around 90% of the covered products to be lowered to most-favored-nation rates.
China plans to trim duties on a variety of American agricultural goods including corn, wheat, sorghum, meat, dairy, vegetable oils and meals — but notably not soybeans — along with U.S. fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics, and medical devices. Washington’s reciprocal cuts cover Chinese small appliances such as coffee makers and toasters, tableware, blankets and bed linens, toys, fireworks, artificial flowers, Christmas tree lamps and other holiday decorations, and children’s car seats. Beijing also committed to purchasing 10 million metric tons of American coal annually in 2027 and 2028.
Greer said the agreement would unlock improved market access for about 30% of U.S. exports to China and benefit American consumers, adding that the administration would ensure compliance with commitments on agricultural and energy purchases. The two sides also agreed to establish a trade council and an agricultural working group, and to launch a bilateral AI dialogue — though rare-earth supply disputes remain unresolved.
The deal remains a fraction of the roughly $415 billion in goods the world’s two largest economies exchanged last year, but for American shoppers it could help contain prices on toys and household goods heading into the year-end shopping season. The truce extension through January 10, 2027 sets up the next deadlines: Trump and Xi are expected to meet again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 in Miami in December.
Why it matters: This is the first mutually agreed tariff relief between the two powers in two years — modest in size, but a working framework that turns a fragile truce into institutionalized dialogue at a moment when supply chains and consumer prices hang on it.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/economy/2026/9/28/us-china-list-goods-recommended-for-tariff-cuts-following-trump-xi-summit
https://theprint.in/world/after-trump-xi-summit-us-and-china-release-product-lists-for-30-billion-tariff-relief-deal/3055563/
