US and China “30-for-30”: Tariffs on $60 Billion of Goods Fall, but Soybeans, Chips and Batteries Stay Out
The deal announced on September 27 provides for cutting tariffs on about $30 billion of US exports and $30 billion of Chinese exports; the White House has not said when or by how much.
The US and China agreed to cut tariffs on about $60 billion of goods under the “30-for-30” framework: about $30 billion of US exports to China and $30 billion of Chinese exports to the US. The deal was announced late on Sunday, September 27, 2026. These are proposed cuts — the White House has not said how large they will be or when they take effect. China’s Commerce Ministry says tariffs on about 90 percent of the products on each list will return to baseline most-favored-nation rates.
China’s list has 77 categories (bed linen, garden umbrellas, car seats, fish hooks, billiard balls) and the US list 1,619 (butter, corn, wheat, frozen meat, seafood, cosmetics, wood, MRI systems, coal). China agreed to import at least 10 million metric tons of US coal a year in 2027 and 2028. Left out are whole soybeans (still facing an extra 10 percent tariff), semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles.
Trump and Xi met in Washington a few days earlier and extended the trade truce until January 10. Expert Henry Gao described the deal as “less the demolition of a tariff wall than the opening of a safety valve,” and Deborah Elms as “a mostly symbolic way of indicating that tariffs can be cut without tackling the major challenges.”
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 12, 2026
