The U.S. and China last week reached a trade and economic agreement that, according to information from the White House, includes the following provisions. Note that further action by the U.S. will be required to implement many of its commitments.
Tariffs. The U.S. will extend until Nov. 10, 2026, its (1) suspension of higher “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from China, which will therefore remain at ten percent and (2) exclusion of certain products from Section 301 tariffs on imports from China.
Effective Nov. 10 the U.S. will reduce from 20 percent to 10 percent the additional tariff on imports from China imposed due to concerns about fentanyl flows. In return China “will stop the shipment of certain designated [precursor] chemicals to North America and strictly control exports of certain other chemicals to all destinations in the world.”
China “will suspend all of the retaliatory tariffs that it has announced since March 4,
2025,” including on “a vast swath” of U.S. agricultural products, and “will suspend or remove all of the retaliatory non-tariff countermeasures” taken against the U.S. since that date, including its “listing of certain American companies on its end user and unreliable entity lists.”
China will also extend the expiration of its tariff exclusion process for imports from the U.S. and exclusions will remain valid until Dec. 31, 2026.
50 percent rule. The U.S. will suspend until Nov. 10, 2026, the implementation of an interim final rule expanding export restrictions to many subsidiaries of entities on two federal lists. This rule has been in effect since Sept. 29.
Ship fees. The U.S. will suspend until Nov. 10, 2026, the fees imposed on Chinese-owned or -operated vessels and Chinese-built vessels, which took effect Oct. 14. In return China will remove its retaliatory measures and “remove sanctions imposed on various shipping entities.”
Rare earths. China will suspend for a year the global implementation of the export controls on rare earths and related measures that it announced Oct. 9.
The White House claimed that China will also “issue general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite for the benefit of U.S. end users and their suppliers around the world.” China imposed strict controls on exports of these items to the U.S. in December 2024. While a White House fact sheet said Beijing’s commitment means “the de facto removal of controls China imposed in April 2025 and October 2022,” press sources have suggested otherwise.
Agriculture. China committed to purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans during the last two months of 2025 and at least 25 MMT in each of 2026, 2027, and 2028. China will also resume purchases of U.S. sorghum and hardwood logs.
Other. China will terminate its various investigations targeting U.S. companies in the semiconductor supply chain, including its antitrust, anti-monopoly, and antidumping investigations.
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