WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Nationwide Times) — The United States and China have identified about $30 billion in goods flowing each way that could receive lower tariffs after talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. For businesses that trade those goods, the lists show where costs might change. They do not change tariffs yet.
The White House said the two countries agreed on recommendations for more favorable treatment of nonsensitive goods. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the goods could benefit from that treatment in the future. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the two sides would discuss a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework and aim to reach a consensus.
The proposed lists cover 1,619 categories of U.S. goods entering China and 77 categories of Chinese goods entering the United States. U.S. products include farm goods, timber, medical equipment and coal. Chinese products include fireworks and Christmas ornaments. The category counts differ sharply, but the proposed trade value is roughly $30 billion on each side; the counts alone do not show how much tariffs might fall.
Greer said U.S. farmers, manufacturers, businesses, workers and consumers could benefit. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the arrangement could help exporters of the affected goods. Those potential gains depend on the terms the governments ultimately adopt, not simply on a product appearing on a list.
China’s ministry said tariff rates on more than 90% of the products would be subject to most-favored-nation levels. The governments have not specified final rates, eligibility rules or an implementation date. Until they do, importers cannot calculate the savings on a shipment from the proposed framework.
