US and China Publish $60 Billion Tariff-Cut Lists After Trump-Xi, With Timing Still Murky

The US and China put the first real numbers on their trade thaw Monday. Each side announced plans to cut tariffs on about $30 billion of the other's goods, roughly $60 billion in total, following the Trump-Xi summit in Washington, CNBC reports.

The lists say a lot about what each government wanted to win. The US import list is short, just 77 items, and leans heavily on toys, sports gear, Christmas decorations, kitchenware and fireworks. In other words, the stuff American shoppers will be buying in about eight weeks.

China's list is far longer at 1,619 items, and it is aimed squarely at American farm country. Soybeans, meats, poultry, apples, whiskey, peanut butter and breeding animals all feature, CNN reports. Beijing knows exactly which constituencies Washington cares about.

What neither side said is when any of this kicks in or how much the rates will actually fall. Nothing is live yet, and no percentage cuts were specified, so importers are looking at a menu without prices.

Scale matters here too. Last year effective tariffs ran above 40% on the US side and around 30% on China's. A $60 billion trim does not unwind those walls, especially against a US goods trade deficit with China of more than $202 billion last year.

The broader framework is holding for now. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the one-year truce that capped further hikes will be extended to January, and a new Board of Trade will meet at least quarterly, Axios reports. That gives both sides a standing venue to argue over the details that Monday's lists left blank.