Trump-Xi meeting calmed U.S.-China trade tensions with initial agreements

Specific steps to de-escalate tensions

Both the United States and China released statements following the Trump-Xi meeting detailing the specific actions that both countries will take to de-escalate trade tensions. Each country has since implemented many of the actions.

Specifically, the United States agreed or has taken action to:

• Lower from 20 percent to 10 percent, effective November 10, 2025, the tariffs imposed through the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) over China’s alleged role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis (“fentanyl tariffs”), and suspend the higher IEEPA reciprocal tariffs on China from April for a year.
• Extend for one year the expiration date for certain Section 301 tariff exclusions, currently due to expire on November 29, 2025.
• Delay the implementation of BIS’s September 29 Interim Final Rule, which would have subjected subsidiaries of entities on the BIS Entity List and other similar lists to U.S. export controls (“BIS Affiliates Rule”) from November 10, 2025, to November 9, 2026.
• Suspend for one year the port fees imposed on Chinese-built and Chinese-owned ships through the USTR Section 301 action, “China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance,” starting on November 10, 2025.

China agreed or has taken action to:

• Resume the purchase of U.S. soybeans, committing to purchase at least 12 million metric tons (MMT) of U.S. soybeans during the last two months of 2025 and at least 25 MMT of U.S. soybeans in each of 2026, 2027, and 2028.
• Resume the purchase of U.S. sorghum and hardwood logs.
• Suspend a 24 percent tariff on all U.S.-origin goods for one additional year and terminate 10-15 percent retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-origin chicken, wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, starting November 10, 2025, at 1:01 P.M. local time.
  • Notwithstanding the above measures, U.S. exports to China remain subject to a general retaliatory tariff of 10 percent. In addition, U.S. oil, gas, coal, agricultural machinery, and trucks are also subject to Chinese retaliatory tariffs of 10-15 percent.
• Suspend for one year or terminate restrictions placed on certain U.S. entities that the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) included on its Countermeasures List, Export Control Controlled Parties List, and Unreliable Entity List. These restrictions had previously prevented the targeted entities from selling to China, purchasing products from China, and/or investing in China.
• Suspend for one year (through November 10, 2026) MOFCOM’s October 9, 2025 measures that expanded the scope of export controls over rare earths and critical minerals.
• Change the license review policy over exports of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, superhard materials, and graphite from “presumption of denial” or “stricter end-user or end-use review” to standard review. This change, which is effective from November 9, 2025 through November 27, 2026, is not equivalent to a general license—exporting these dual-use items to the United States will continue to require a license.
• Suspend for one year port fees imposed on U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated ships, starting November 10, 2025.
• Resume exports of semiconductors from the facilities of Nexperia B.V. in China that had been subject to Chinese export restrictions due to a managerial dispute with the Netherlands.
• Extend further the expiration of the market-based tariff exclusion process for imports from the U.S., with exclusions remaining valid until December 31, 2026.
• Terminate various investigations targeting U.S. companies in the semiconductor supply chain, including antitrust, anti-monopoly, and anti-dumping investigations.
• Impose export controls on shipments of 13 precursor chemicals related to fentanyl production to the United States, Mexico, and Canada, starting November 10, 2025.

These outcomes made progress on President Trump’s three stated priorities going into his meeting with President Xi – namely, for China to curb fentanyl, resume critical mineral trade, and purchase soybeans and other crops. Technical discussions between the U.S. and Chinese trade teams on both sides appear to continue following the leadership meeting, with President Xi stating his preference that the trade teams conclude follow-up work as quickly as possible.

In addition, beyond trade, both countries agreed that President Trump will visit China for a summit in April 2026, while President Xi will visit the United States at a later time.

Differences in understanding remain regarding export controls

Based on the U.S. and Chinese statements, the parties appear to have different understandings on the changes to be made to Chinese export control measures over rare earths and critical minerals. The White House Fact Sheet announced that China will 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, covering its October 2022 and April 2025 export control measures, amounting to a “de facto removal of controls China imposed since 2023.”

In contrast, China agreed only to suspend its October 9, 2025 export control measures for one year and relax the license criteria for the export of certain dual-use items containing gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite to the United States and other foreign destinations, while keeping its existing export control regime intact. There are news reports that China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that is expected to lower the burden on license applicants and allow higher volumes of shipments. However, any new license regime would likely not amount to the issuance of general licenses. On the Chinese side, there also appears to be an understanding that the United States will pause new export control measures on Chinese access to U.S. technology; however U.S. statements did not confirm this understanding.

Lowering Fentanyl tariffs reduces duties for a wide variety of goods

President Trump’s IEEPA fentanyl tariffs are the only tariff measure imposed during his second administration with virtually no exceptions (other than an exclusion for products under Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States).  As such, products that President Trump’s IEEPA “reciprocal” tariffs exempted (including computers, smartphones, pharmaceuticals and ingredients, and products subject to the Section 232 national security tariffs (e.g., steel, aluminum, automobiles and parts, copper)) remain subject to the fentanyl tariffs. The effective tariff rate on these products, which comprise several of the highest-value products that China exports to the United States, has been cut in half (if the product is not also subject to Section 301 tariffs) due to President Trump’s decision to lower the fentanyl tariffs to 10 percent.

Authored by Jonathan Stoel, Joshua Kurland, Mayur Patel, Stephanie Sun, Kelly Heesch, and Mark Ye.