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Monday, September 28, 2026

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Trade · Monday, September 28, 2026

U.S. and China post Board of Trade rules and “30-for-30” tariff lists

The File desk · Sep. 28, 2026, 6:20 a.m. ET

Confirmed5 primary sources

Status

Confirmed (White House release + Working Procedures + Terms of Reference + product-list PDFs, Sept. 27, 2026)
Late Sunday night, Sept. 27, 2026, the White House posted working procedures for a U.S.–China Board of Trade and terms for a “30-for-30” framework. The two sides will consider reciprocal lower tariffs on mutually agreed import lists valued at about $30 billion each way, measured with 2024 trade figures. U.S. principals named are Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer; China’s principal is Vice Premier He Lifeng. Attached lists name Chinese goods for possible U.S. import relief (77 Harmonized Tariff Schedule lines, including fireworks, plastic tableware, textiles and linens, and household appliances) and a China-side import list of U.S. goods (1,619 Harmonized System rows in the posted PDF, opening with livestock and meat). Cuts are not automatic — they still have to clear each country’s own legal process. This is the first concrete post-visit paperwork on the reciprocal tariff dialogue after Friday’s Trump–Xi state visit; it is not a rehash of that visit alone.
Late Sunday night, the White House posted working rules for a joint board with China and the terms for a tariff list it calls “30-for-30.”
The release is dated Sept. 27, 2026, at 9:59 p.m. Eastern.
say the board’s job is to improve trade in both directions. The United States and China have agreed to a dialogue under the board on lists of imported goods totaling roughly $30 billion on each side, with an eye toward lower tariffs on those goods, each way, under each country’s own laws.
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, are the U.S. principals named in those procedures. He Lifeng, vice premier of the State Council, is named for China.
Deputies to those principals are to meet at least once a quarter. Their first job is a proposal on selected goods that could get lower tariffs on both sides, still under each country’s own laws.
say the principals have approved two lists of about the same value: U.S. products for import into China, and Chinese products for import into the United States. The values use two-way trade in calendar year 2024.
Any actual tariff cut on those lists still has to be decided and carried out under each side’s own legal process. The terms say the two sides do not expect to adjust the lists more often than about once a year.
The U.S. import list has 77 lines in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. It opens with 36041090, fireworks. The lines also include plastic tableware, textiles and linens, and household appliances.
The China import list, posted in Chinese, runs to 1,619 numbered rows in the Harmonized System. Livestock and meat categories are at the top. The White House page does not include a full English translation.
None of this is a finished rate cut.
It is the first set of procedures and product lists on the reciprocal tariff dialogue after Friday’s state visit between President Trump and President Xi. It is not a second telling of that visit.
How we know

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Exact dollar totals by product are not summed in the Terms of Reference (it says “roughly $30 billion” / “comparably valued”).
  • Timing of any actual rate cuts is not specified.
  • A full English translation of the China import list is not on the White House page.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    U.S.-China Board of Trade

    The White House · September 27, 2026

    The United States and China will consider the following list of U.S. products for import into China and list of Chinese products for import into the United States with a view toward providing reduced tariff treatment to those goods in a reciprocal manner, consistent with their respective domestic laws and processes.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/09/u-s-china-board-of-trade/

  2. Source 2

    WORKING PROCEDURES FOR THE U.S.-CHINA BOARD OF TRADE

    The White House (PDF) · September 27, 2026

    The United States and China have agreed to a dialogue under the Board of Trade to consider lists of mutually agreed upon imported goods totaling roughly $30 billion on each side, with a view toward providing reduced tariff treatment to those goods in a reciprocal manner, consistent with their respective domestic laws and processes. The Board of Trade will be overseen by the two sides’ Principals, who include Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, and Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, on the U.S. side, and He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council, on the Chinese side.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/US-China-Board-of-Trade-Working-Procedures.pdf

  3. Source 3

    TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE “30-FOR-30” FRAMEWORK

    The White House (PDF) · September 27, 2026

    The Principals have approved two comparably valued lists of products, including a list of U.S. products for import into China and a list of Chinese products for import into the United States. The values attributable to the products on the two lists were determined by reference to annual bilateral trade values for calendar year 2024. Future tariff reductions involving the products on the two approved lists will be determined and implemented in accordance with each side’s domestic legal processes.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Terms-of-Reference-for-30-for-30-Framework.pdf

  4. Source 4

    U.S. Import List

    The White House (PDF) · September 27, 2026

    77 HTS lines beginning with 36041090 Fireworks, nesoi.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/US-Public-List.pdf

  5. Source 5

    China import product list (中国进口产品清单)

    The White House (PDF) · September 27, 2026

    Numbered HS rows 1–1619; livestock/meat categories at top.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/China-Import-List.pdf