The United States will, effective November 10, 2025, reduce the tariffs previously imposed on Chinese products under the pretext of curbing fentanyl influx. The overall tariff rate will be lowered by 10 percentage points. Concurrently, the US will maintain the suspension of "further reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese products until November 10, 2026. (The current 10% reciprocal tariffs will remain suspended during this period.)
Furthermore, in an interview with media aboard Air Force One on October 31, 2025, Donald Trump stated he would be "very happy" to further reduce tariffs on China by another 10%. Trump's meaning was his willingness to cancel the remaining 10% "fentanyl tariffs."
US Section 301 tariffs on China remain unchanged and continue to be implemented as before.
Some companies, seeing the "301" reference, have misunderstood this to mean the US has suspended Section 301 tariffs or that China has suspended its retaliatory Section 301 tariffs. They mistakenly interpret the suspension of China's countermeasures against the US maritime Section 301 taxes as a cancellation of retaliatory Section 301 tariffs, wrongly believing it's no longer necessary to apply for market-based procurement exclusions for US goods. This is a completely incorrect understanding.
The actual adjustment regarding the Section 301 investigation is this: The US has adjusted and suspended for one year the Section 301 investigation taxes on Chinese maritime vessels and shipbuilding. This Section 301 investigation is entirely separate from the Section 301 investigations on goods since 2018.
Similarly, China's corresponding adjustment suspends its retaliatory measures against the US Section 301 maritime investigation for one year. This does not mean suspending retaliatory Section 301 tariffs on goods. Instead, it suspends the Ministry of Transport's measure of charging special port fees on US vessels – it targets maritime shipping vessels and is unrelated to tariffs.
Therefore, if companies need to import goods originating from the US that are on the retaliatory Section 301 tariff list, they still need to apply for a market-based procurement exclusion number to enjoy exemption from these retaliatory tariffs. Application website: https://gszx.mof.gov.cn/
Various US Section 232 tariffs are implemented globally and are not involved in this adjustment; they remain in effect.
China will adjust some of its previous retaliatory measures concerning fentanyl tariffs against the US. It is anticipated that the additional 10% tariffs on some goods imposed against the US according to the Customs Tariff Commission Announcements No. 1 and 2 of 2025 will be canceled, corresponding to the US reduction of fentanyl tariffs by 10%. Specific details are not yet available and will be subject to subsequent announcements from the Ministry of Finance Tariff Department.
China's retaliatory Section 301 tariffs against the US remain unchanged and continue to be implemented.
Some aspects of the talk outcomes are quite interesting. For example, China specifically emphasized that it would only suspend its measures against US vessels "after the US suspends its Section 301 investigation measures on the maritime logistics and shipbuilding industry." The implication is that if the US does not stop implementing its maritime Section 301 measures, China will not stop either.
There are also cautious elements. For instance, although China mentioned suspending for one year the export control measures on rare earths, hard materials, etc., announced on October 9, 2025, it pointed out the need to research and refine the specific implementation plan. This suggests it might not be an immediate and full suspension.
It is important to note that other Chinese export control measures not mentioned in the talk outcomes still need to be implemented. For example:
"Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Science and Technology Announcement No. 28 of 2025 on Adjusting and Releasing the 'Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export in China'"
