The United States and China confirmed after their Washington meetings concluded on September 25 that the two sides had reached consensus on more favorable tariff treatment for approximately USD 30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction. The arrangement is being advanced through the bilateral trade mechanism established earlier this year and covers selected U.S. exports to China as well as Chinese exports to the United States. The White House identified several product categories, but complete tariff-line lists, final rate reductions and a common implementation date have not yet been published.
For U.S. exports to China, the listed categories include agricultural products, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices.
For U.S. imports from China, examples include small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children's car seats.
The White House described the outcome as a consensus on “recommendations for more favorable tariff treatment” covering USD 30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction.
China's official readout described the result as a USD 30 billion reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement and said the two leaders instructed their economic and trade teams to implement the agreed outcomes.
The two descriptions confirm agreement on the scale and direction of the tariff arrangement, while detailed implementation remains to be released.
Neither side has yet published a complete list of HS codes.
Specific tariff reductions by product, possible phase-in schedules and the effective dates for individual categories have also not been disclosed.
For the chemical and materials industries, two of the publicly listed categories — cosmetics and medical devices — have direct links to specialty chemicals and advanced materials supply chains.
Cosmetics manufacturing relies on surfactants, emulsifiers, preservatives, functional additives, fragrances, silicones and a wide range of specialty ingredients.
Medical devices use engineering plastics, medical-grade polymers, coatings, adhesives, silicones and other high-performance materials.
The published documents do not yet indicate whether upstream chemical raw materials associated with these industries will receive separate preferential tariff treatment.
The tariff arrangement was announced alongside several other economic measures.
The two countries formally moved ahead with the U.S.-China Board of Trade and Board of Investment, with the investment mechanism intended to address potential investment opportunities, investment barriers and other commercially significant issues.
The trade mechanism also launched a working group focused on agricultural market-access barriers.
Rare earths and other critical minerals remain part of the broader economic discussions.
The White House said the two sides will continue working on supply-chain shortages involving rare earths and other critical minerals, with the goal of restoring shipment levels to appropriate levels.
Those materials are used across permanent magnets, batteries, electronic materials, catalysts and other advanced manufacturing and chemical applications.
China's official account also said the two leaders endorsed the outcomes reached by their economic and trade teams and instructed that the arrangements be implemented.
Reuters reported that the existing U.S.-China trade truce, previously due to expire on November 10, would also be extended by two months as the two sides continue broader negotiations.
The USD 30 billion figure applies in each direction, rather than representing a combined bilateral total.
As of September 27, complete product lists and final tariff rates had not yet been released.
