China and the United States agreed to reduce tariffs on agricultural trade as part of a broader trade agreement announced following meetings between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. China’s Ministry of Commerce said both countries agreed “in principle” to include agricultural products within a reciprocal tariff reduction framework while establishing goals to expand two-way agricultural trade. But Reuters said Chinese officials didn’t specify which products would be included or provide implementation details.
The announcement follows White House statements that China agreed to purchase an additional $17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually, on top of existing soybean commitments already negotiated between the two countries. Analysts say fulfilling those commitments would likely require China to reduce tariffs on U.S. agricultural products. The proposed purchases could return Chinese imports of U.S. products closer to record levels. China’s statement largely mirrored earlier comments from Washington but was more limited in detail.
-NAFB