The United States and China have approved product lists worth roughly $30 billion on each side for possible tariff cuts, providing the first concrete proposal from the US-China Board of Trade after President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington.
Documents released after the visit set out categories of goods that could receive favourable tariff treatment. The arrangement covers non-sensitive products, and the framework says the two lists were valued using annual bilateral trade figures from 2024.
American exports named in the arrangement include agricultural goods, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices. Chinese products identified for favourable treatment in the United States include small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children's car seats.
The lists do not yet change the tariffs paid by importers. Neither government has announced reductions for the products covered, and any future cuts will be decided and put into force through each country's domestic legal processes. The documents give no timing for those decisions or details of the rates that could result.
China described the arrangement as part of an eight-point consensus reached during Xi's visit. The two governments also launched a working group on barriers to agricultural market access.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the proposed treatment could improve access to China for American agricultural products and medical devices. He said the plan could improve market access for about 30 per cent of US exports to China.
The Board of Trade was established during President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing in May. Its initial focus is trade in non-sensitive goods between the two countries. The newly released lists are its first stated proposal, placing a defined group of products into a process that will now depend on domestic action in Washington and Beijing.
The framework leaves the broader US-China trade dispute unresolved. Sensitive sectors and other outstanding economic issues fall outside the announced $30 billion arrangement.
The deal follows a sharp escalation in tariffs that began in February 2025, when Trump levied a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports. He cited Beijing's alleged role in the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration.
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods reached 145% in April 2025, shortly after Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariffs. Negotiators from the United States and China met in Geneva in May 2025 and agreed to a 90-day truce. That agreement lowered U.S. tariffs to 30% and China's to 10%.
The latest arrangement creates a route for possible reductions covering specified consumer, agricultural and industrial goods. Its practical effect remains uncertain until both governments announce rates and complete their respective legal processes.
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