WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Nationwide Times) — The United States and China have identified about $30 billion in goods traded each way for possible tariff relief after a Trump-Xi summit. For businesses that buy or sell those products, the lists mark a potential change in costs — not a tariff cut they can count on yet.
The White House said the two countries had reached consensus on recommendations for more favorable treatment of nonsensitive goods. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the goods could receive 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 product 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 roughly $30 billion figure on each side describes the value of goods under consideration, not the amount businesses would save.
Greer said U.S. farmers, manufacturers, businesses, workers and consumers could benefit. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the framework could help exporters of the listed goods and address domestic demand. The ministry also said tariffs on more than 90% of the products would be subject to most-favored-nation rates.
Neither government has specified final rates or an effective date. Those terms, along with which listed products ultimately qualify, will determine whether the proposal changes prices or trade costs.
