The United States and China have agreed to lower tariffs on roughly $60 billion of each other’s goods, the first concrete result of the Board of Trade the two governments set up in May. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the recommendations on Sunday, 27 September, a week after Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House.
Each side put forward about $30 billion of imports that it described as non-sensitive: products where cheaper access carries little strategic risk. The lists say a lot about where both governments see room to give ground, and where they do not.
What is on the lists
China’s list is weighted towards American agriculture. It includes corn, wheat, meat, dairy and seafood, along with logs, cosmetics and medical devices. Greer said the changes would improve market access for about 30% of US exports to China.
The American list is made up of consumer goods that the US buys mostly from China: small household appliances, toys, fireworks and children’s car seats among them.
The absence of soybeans stands out. They are the largest US farm export to China and the crop most exposed to past rounds of retaliation, and purchases are handled through separate commitments rather than through this list.
What is still missing
The documents released by the White House do not say how far tariffs will fall or when. The terms of reference state that cuts will be determined and implemented under each side’s domestic legal processes. Asked about timing a few days later, Greer said no date had been set.
Trade analysts have pointed out that this leaves importers and retailers unable to price the change in. Wendy Cutler of the Asia Society Policy Institute noted that the White House document is vague on when consumers might see lower prices.
The lists show where Washington and Beijing are willing to give ground. The missing dates show how carefully they are doing it.
The wider package
The tariff lists came with an extension of the trade truce, which had been due to expire in November, by two months to 10 January. China also committed to import 10 million metric tons of US coal a year in 2027 and 2028, and the two sides agreed to set up a working group on agriculture.
Why it matters
Measured against the several hundred billion dollars of goods the two countries trade each year, $60 billion is a modest slice. Its significance is procedural: the Board of Trade has shown it can produce agreed lists, and both governments have chosen to start with goods that neither considers strategic.
The harder questions, such as semiconductors, export controls and critical minerals, are not part of these lists.
What to watch
- Formal notices setting the new tariff rates on either side.
- Whether the truce is extended again before 10 January.
- Any second round of lists from the Board of Trade.
