US, China list goods recommended for tariff cuts following Trump-Xi summit

The United States and China have published lists of products recommended for lower tariffs following a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The agreement aims to target $60 billion of trade — split evenly with $30 billion of each side’s imports — and sets out a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework for discussion. The Chinese list includes 77 categories of goods such as microwave ovens, fish hooks, artificial flowers and weighing scales. On the U.S. side, officials identified more than 1,600 products that could receive more favourable treatment, naming examples that include poultry, dairy, noodles, eggs, peanuts, canned tomatoes, pure-breed breeding horses and silk. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the arrangement would expand market access for roughly 30 percent of U.S. exports to China and would also deliver benefits to American consumers. China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed the list and said both sides would work toward a reciprocal $30 billion-for-$30 billion tariff reduction framework intended to stabilize bilateral trade and strengthen cooperation across agricultural, energy, manufacturing and consumer sectors. Analysts cautioned that the measures are limited in scope. Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation, told Al Jazeera that the selected goods are generally not expected to shift overall trade volumes materially; she said some consumer prices in the U.S. might fall modestly but the lists are unlikely to produce significant changes in inflation or broad relief for buyers. Two-way trade between the U.S. and China declined substantially after President Trump’s return to office last year, totaling $495 billion in 2025, a drop of 25 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. While the summit was marked by ceremony, leaders wrapped up talks with only a few concrete trade commitments beyond this tariff list. Trump and Xi have held three face-to-face summits since last October and are expected to meet again at upcoming international gatherings, including APEC in Shenzhen and the G20 in Miami.