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 a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. For businesses trading those products, the lists show where costs might fall. They do not yet change what importers pay.
The White House said the two countries had agreed on recommendations for more favorable treatment of nonsensitive goods. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the goods could benefit from lower tariffs in the future. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the two sides would discuss a reciprocal 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 different category counts do not change the roughly $30 billion value assigned to each direction of trade.
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 and address domestic demand. Neither government has specified final tariff rates or an implementation date, so the value of any savings to those groups remains unclear.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said more than 90% of the products would be subject to most-favored-nation tariff levels under the proposed approach. Whether that treatment takes effect, and which listed goods ultimately qualify, depends on the terms the two sides have yet to settle.
