China signals tariff cuts, advances in farm market access after summit
BEIJING 鈥 China and the US have agreed to expand agricultural trade through tariff reductions and tackle non-tariff barriers and market access issues, China鈥檚 commerce ministry said after this week鈥檚 summit in Beijing.
The agreements are 鈥減reliminary鈥 and will be 鈥渇inalized as soon as possible,鈥 the ministry said following US President Donald Trump鈥檚 visit.
China鈥檚 farm imports from the US still face an additional 10% levy after last year鈥檚 rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs sharply curtailed trade, which fell 65.7% year on year to $8.4 billion in 2025, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The commerce ministry said both sides aim to promote two-way trade, including in agricultural products, through measures such as reciprocal tariff reductions across a range of goods. It did not specify which products.
China resumed purchases of some US farm goods after an October meeting, fulfilling a commitment to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans by the end of February. It has also purchased some US wheat cargoes and large volumes of sorghum.
Market watchers expect a 10% cut in soybean tariffs, which could allow private Chinese crushers to resume purchases that were largely sidelined during last year鈥檚 US harvest, when state crop traders were the only buyers.
鈥淭ariff reductions on agricultural products would mark a normalization of China-US farm trade, allowing commercial buyers to re-enter the market,鈥 said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting.
The ministry said both sides agreed to 鈥渞esolve or make substantive progress鈥 on non-tariff barriers and market access issues.
China will work to address US concerns over registration of beef facilities and poultry exports from certain US states, it said.
Beijing on Friday granted five-year registration extensions to 425 US听 beef plants that had largely been shut out after their registrations lapsed last year, and approved new five-year registrations for 77 additional US facilities.
US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins wrote in a post on X on Saturday that China agreed to implement beef commitments that include resuming imports from 17 US states.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said 鈥on Friday that the US expects China to buy 鈥渄ouble-digit billions鈥 worth of US farm goods over the next three years, although neither side has yet released details on specific products, values or volume. 鈥 Reuters
