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On May 12, 2025, the United States and China issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/joint-statement-on-u-s-china-economic-and-trade-meeting-in-geneva/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joint Statement</a> concerning recent trade negotiations and commitments to several &ldquo;mutually beneficial economic&rdquo; actions in the two countries&rsquo; trade relationship.&nbsp;Accordingly, no later than May 14, 2025:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The United States will (i) modify the application of the additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of China (including articles of Hong Kong and Macau) set forth in Executive Order (&ldquo;EO&rdquo;) 14257 of April 2, 2025 (i.e. the reciprocal tariffs), by suspending 24% of that rate for an initial period of 90 days, while retaining the&nbsp;remaining ad valorem rate of 10% on those articles pursuant to the terms of that EO and (ii) remove the modified additional ad valorem rates of duty on those articles imposed by EO 14259 of April 8, 2025 and EO 14266 of April 9, 2025 (i.e., both modifying upward the China reciprocal tariff rate).</li>
<li>China will (i) modify the application of the additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of the United States set forth in the Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council No. 4 of 2025 by suspending 24 percentage points of that rate for an initial period of 90 days, while retaining the remaining additional ad valorem rate of 10% on those articles and removing the modified additional ad valorem rates of duty on those articles imposed by the Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council No. 5 of 2025 and the Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council No. 6 of 2025 and (ii) adopt all necessary administrative measures to suspend or remove the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2, 2025.</li>
</ul>
The United States has indicated that it will retain all duties imposed on China before April 2, 2025, including Section 301 tariffs, Section 232 tariffs, and the 20% tariffs imposed on China in response to the fentanyl crisis pursuant to the IEEPA.&nbsp;Overall, the United States will temporarily reduce tariffs on China to a baseline of 30% (not including the aforementioned potentially applicable Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs).&nbsp;It remains unclear whether these negotiations addressed or will temporarily reduce the application of tariffs on goods entering the United States from China under the &ldquo;de minimis&rdquo; rule pursuant to Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 &mdash; an exemption allowing imports valued at $800 or less to enter the United States with minimal filing requirements and duty-free.
China has indicated that certain tariffs on U.S. agricultural products and retaliation for the U.S. tariffs issued over fentanyl will remain in place.&nbsp;China will temporarily reduce tariffs on the United States to a baseline of 10% (not including the aforementioned agricultural- and fentanyl-related tariffs).&nbsp;It is also currently believed that in addressing &ldquo;the non-tariff countermeasures,&rdquo; China will remove restrictions it recently implemented on the export of rare earth elements and sanctions on certain U.S. companies.&nbsp;
It is expected that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be issuing clarifying information and guidance shortly via its Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) regarding the temporary adjustment to applicable tariffs on China.
The two countries will now more formally establish a mechanism to continue discussions on economic and trade relationships.

China and the United States Agree to Temporarily Lower Tariff Rates

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