U.S. and China Negotiations

Recently, after several rounds of negotiations and meetings between the leaders of China and the U.S., both sides have achieved a series of breakthroughs in tariffs and other issues. This is significant progress after months of tension caused by trade and tariff hikes.

-      The U.S. will lower the tariffs on Chinese imports imposed to curb fentanyl flows by removing 10% of the cumulative rate for one year. It will also suspend the implementation of higher-level equivalent tariffs on Chinese imported goods" until November 10, 2026. China will "take significant steps to stem the flow of fentanyl to the U.S.," including halting shipments of designated chemicals to North America and implementing strict global controls on the export of certain other substances.

-      China will suspend the extensive new export control measures on rare earths and related products that took effect on October 9, 2025, and will "issue a one-year general export license for rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite to U.S. end users and their global suppliers." This general license is equivalent to "effectively cancelling the control measures implemented in April 2025 and October 2022".

-      The US will suspend its Section 301 investigation measures targeting China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries for one year, starting November 10, 2025. In response, China will also suspend its corresponding countermeasures for the same one-year period.

-      The U.S. will further extend the expiration dates of certain "301 tariff exemptions" for one year. China "will suspend all the retaliatory tariffs announced as of March 4, 2025", including China's inclusion of certain US companies on its end-user and unreliable entity list and those imposed on various agricultural products from the U.S. (such as chicken, wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products).

-      China will purchase at least 12 million tons of US soybeans in the last two months of 2025, and at least 25 million tons each year in 2026, 2027, and 2028, and will resume purchasing US sorghum and hardwood logs.

-      Additionally, the U.S. will suspend the implementation of the temporary final regulation titled "Expanding End-User Control to Certain Affiliates of Listed Entities" for a period of one year. China will terminate various investigations targeting US companies in the US semiconductor supply chain, including its anti-monopoly, anti-trust, and anti-dumping investigations.

Overall, these outcomes are largely built on a foundation of "reciprocal exchanges," meaning both sides have made broadly symmetrical "concessions" in specific areas in the short term.

U.S. officials stated the overall U.S. tariff on Chinese products will decrease from 57% to 47%, (In fact, the tariff rates paid will vary depending on the specific goods, as some tariffs remain unchanged. We have listed  the specific tariff changes for your reference below. If you have any questions, please consult your tariff expert or contact us.) This adjustment brings the U.S. tariff levels on certain Chinese goods nominally on par with or even lower than those imposed on goods from other countries such as Switzerland, India, Brazil, and Canada. According to calculations by the Yale University Budget Lab, the average effective U.S. tariff on Chinese goods is listed as 20.2%, and the effective tariff on goods from the Rest of the World is listed as 17.3%. Some economists and business executives believe this outcome may reduce the urgency for companies to seek alternative supply chains to China, eroding the economic advantages previously expected from relocating operations to countries like Brazil, Vietnam, and India.

The tariffs change came up from the negotiations and meetings between the leaders of China and the U.S. since Oct 30 2025
The U.S.
Tariff items	Before meeting	After meeting
IEEPA fentanyl	20%	10%
Reciprocal Tariffs on China (Imposed after Offset against Section 232 Tariffs)	10%	10%
Section 232 Tariffs for steel, aluminum and its derivatives	50%	50%
Section 232 Tariffs for copper and its derivatives	50%	50%
Section 232 Tariffs for wood and its derivatives	25%	25%
Section 232 Tariffs for heavy vehicles and their components, school buses, buses, long-distance coaches (implemented on November 1, 2025)	25%	25%
Section 232 Tariffs for auto and its components	25%	25%
Section 301 Tariffs (The list of tariffs imposed by Trump during his first term in office, the list of 300 billion USD, 200 billion USD, 34 billion USD and 16 billion USD)	7%-25%	7%-25%
Anti-dumping, Anti-subsidy	Implement in specific cases	Implement in specific cases
Tariff exclusion measures for some specified HTS	Exclusion of 164 commodities under HTS#9903.88.69 and 14 commodities under HTS#9903.88.70	Exclusion extension for one year.
General tariff	Column I general tariff	Column I general tariff
The 50% equity penetration rule of the U.S. BIS export control system	Effective on Sept 29 2025	Suspend one year
Section 301 investigation measures targeting China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries	Effective on Oct 14 2025	Suspend one year
China
Tariff items	Before meeting	After meeting
Reciprocal tariffs for against the US 232 Section, involving 182 tariffs	15%-25%	15%-25%
Reciprocal tariffs for against the US 301 Section (The list of 300 billion USD, 200 billion USD, 34 billion USD and 16 billion USD)	5%-25%	5%-25%
Reciprocal tariffs for against the US' fentanyl tariff	10%-15%	China have not yet adjusted the tariff. The details are subject to the official announcement of China.
Against the US' reciprocal tariffs	10%	10%
Special port fees	Effective on Oct 14 2025	Suspend one year
Tariff exclusion measures for some specified HTS	Expired on Sept 30 2025	Suspend one year
Export control measures for Lithium batteries, artificial graphite anode materials, heavy rare earths, rare earth processing and refining equipment and raw materials	Partial restrictions have already been implemented, and some are yet to be implemented.	Issue a one-year general export license for rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite to U.S. end users and their global suppliers.