# Washington and Beijing Publish Terms of Matched Tariff Cuts on $30 Billion of Goods Each Way

China's Ministry of Commerce says more than 90% of the listed products will lose all retaliatory tariffs and revert to most-favored-nation treatment once both governments complete their domestic procedures.

- Published: 2026-09-28T05:13:14.945Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-09-28/washington-and-beijing-publish-terms-of-matched-tariff-cuts
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: macro
- Sources: [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/b1ba7dd2-3e3a-4944-b637-ff7db3b636e1?syn-25a6b1a6=1), [China News Service](https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/2026/09-28/10704768.shtml), [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-china-strike-deal-lower-tariffs-30b-goods-trump-xi-washington-summit)

The United States and China have agreed to lower tariffs on roughly $30 billion of imports in each direction. The Financial Times describes the package as covering [non-sensitive goods from foie gras to camels](https://www.ft.com/content/b1ba7dd2-3e3a-4944-b637-ff7db3b636e1?syn-25a6b1a6=1). The mechanism behind it is the bilateral Board of Trade, created after the Beijing summit in May and formally established during Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. The board gives both governments a standing venue for further tariff negotiations rather than a single, one-time settlement.

China's Ministry of Commerce detailed the terms in its own briefing. The two governments will grant reciprocal reductions on about $30 billion of imports each, measured against 2024 trade levels. For more than 90% of the listed products, all mutually imposed additional tariffs will be removed, so the goods revert to most-favored-nation rates, [the ministry said](https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/2026/09-28/10704768.shtml). Beijing's list includes American farm products, personal care goods, medical devices, and coal. Washington's list includes Chinese toys, small appliances, baby products, kitchen and bathroom items, and holiday goods.

American coverage described the same package as an agreement reached after a three-day Washington summit, including [preferential treatment for agricultural exports, fish and seafood, logs and wood products](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-china-strike-deal-lower-tariffs-30b-goods-trump-xi-washington-summit), cosmetics, and medical devices. Both accounts agree on what the deal leaves out: semiconductors, advanced manufacturing inputs, and export controls remain outside the lists, and the tariffs shaping industrial policy on both sides stay in place.

China's Commerce Ministry said on Monday that the two governments have also agreed to extend their broader bilateral trade truce by two months, moving its expiry from November 10 to January 10, 2027, which [Reuters reported](https://za.investing.com/news/commodities-news/china-says-us-trade-truce-extension-creates-space-to-advance-talks-4479666) gives both sides a "relatively stable and predictable policy environment" to continue talks. The ministry linked the extension to a set of parallel commitments: a new agricultural working group due to hold its first meeting before the end of 2026, and a Chinese pledge to import 10 million metric tons of American coal annually in 2027 and 2028. Officials from both countries also said the new Board of Trade will take up a possible framework for reducing reciprocal tariffs on a further $300 billion of trade, a figure far larger than the $30 billion-for-$30 billion lists published Monday.

Measured against total trade between the two countries, the $30 billion-for-$30 billion volume covered by Monday's lists remains small, and both governments describe it as a first installment. What the deal actually establishes is a procedural channel for negotiation, which matters more than the individual product lines, because it lets each side trade concessions without requiring a leader-level summit each time. The truce extension to January adds a longer runway to that process, though the tariffs shaping semiconductors and other strategic sectors remain untouched.

## What this means

The direct beneficiaries are narrow and identifiable. American farm exporters and wood and seafood producers gain price competitiveness in China, Chinese consumer-goods manufacturers regain margin on low-value exports, and United States importers of toys and appliances see input costs fall ahead of the holiday ordering season. The structural point is that both governments chose managed, itemized carve-outs over broad de-escalation. This keeps high tariff barriers around strategic sectors in place while reducing the political pressure caused by consumer prices. Washington wants visible relief on household goods and farm sales before the midterms, Beijing wants stability in export demand while it builds domestic technology capacity, and both can deliver on non-sensitive lists without conceding anything on chips. The precedent is the Geneva truce of May 2025, which lowered headline rates for a fixed window and was extended rather than replaced. The likelier outcome is a second tranche negotiated through the Board of Trade within months, again excluding technology, with the underlying export-control conflict unchanged. Renewed tariff escalation on any listed category, or a breakdown in the ratification steps either side must complete, would contradict this outlook.

## What to watch

- Whether the Board of Trade sets a date for a second product list, which would show the channel is durable rather than a one-time summit deliverable.
- Chinese purchase volumes of American soybeans and other farm goods after the cuts take effect, the clearest test of whether lower tariffs translate into actual orders.
- Any movement on semiconductor export controls, the category deliberately excluded, since inclusion would mark a real change in the relationship rather than a trade-flow adjustment.