On November 4, President Trump signed two executive orders formalizing commitments made with President Xi during a recent bilateral meeting in South Korea, including the reduction of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Fentanyl-related tariffs halved

Through the Executive Order entitled, "Modifying the Duties Addressing the Synthetic opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China", the President said that the PRC "has committed to take significant measures to end the flow of fentanyl to the United States, including stopping the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America and strictly controlling exports of certain other chemicals to all destinations in the world." Accordingly, the US agreed to reduce the fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese imports from 20% to 10%, effective November 10, 2025.

The Executive Order includes a monitoring provision requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to periodically update the President on whether the PRC is meeting its commitments to reduce the flow of fentanyl and precursors to the United States. The President retains the right to further modify the Executive Order if the PRC fails to implement its commitments or if other circumstances indicate that additional action is needed to address the national emergency.

Heightened country-specific tariff rate suspended for one year

In a second Executive Order entitled, "Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates Consistent with the Economic and Trade Arrangement Between the United States and the People's Republic of China," the President determined that it is "necessary and appropriate" to further suspend heightened ad valorem duties imposed on Chinese imports. Absent a deal between the two countries, the heightened duty rate would have been 34%. Instead, the US will continue to impose an ad valorem rate of 10 percent on imports from China while discussion continue between the two countries "to address the lack of trade reciprocity in the United States' economic relationship with the PRC and the United States' resulting national and economic security concerns."

In making this determination, the Executive Order cites the PRC's commitment "to postpone and effectively eliminate export controls on rare earth elements and other critical minerals"; address Chinese reactions against US semiconductor manufacturers; purchase US agricultural exports including soybeans, sorghum, and logs; and remove or suspend responsive tariff actions on US agricultural products.

The suspension of the higher ad valorem duty rate is effective beginning on November 10, 2025, and will continue until November 10, 2026. The President has retained the right to modify this action, however, if he determines that the PRC is not implementing its commitments.

White House fact sheet on US-China truce

As we shared earlier this week in Trade Lines, the White House has also issued a Fact Sheet outlining broad terms agreed to by the US and China. In addition to the tariff adjustments memorialized by the November 4 executive orders, the US committed to:

• Suspend for one year implementation of the interim final rule titled Expansion of End-User Controls to Cover Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities (aka, the Affiliates Rule);
• Suspend for one year actions under the Section 301 investigation on China's Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance;
• Extend for one year existing Section 301 product exclusions.

Meanwhile, China committed to, among other things:

• Suspend for one year expansive new export controls on rare earths;
• Issue general licenses for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite;
• Suspend retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products;
• Purchases of US soybeans, sorghum, and hardwood and softwood logs; and
• Remove measures in response to US actions in the section 301 shipbuilding investigation.

What are the current tariff rates on Chinese imports?

Effective November 10, 2025, the tariff rates on most imports from China range from 10-45%. This includes the reduced 10% fentanyl-related tariff rate, the 10% country-specific rate (with some exceptions for goods subject to Section 232 investigations and/or tariffs), and 25% for goods subject to lists 1-3 of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports or 7.5% for goods subject to list 4a under the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports.