China, US reach consensuses on tariffs, export restrictions

The Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday the specifics of the consensus reached between China and the United States during the trade talks in Malaysia over the last weekend, including lifting fentanyl tariffs, extending reciprocal tariff suspension, and removing export restrictions.

The US will cancel the 10 percent so-called "fentanyl tariffs", while also extending the suspension of the 24 percent reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods — including those from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions — for an additional year, a spokesperson with the ministry said.

China will make corresponding adjustments to its countermeasures against the aforementioned US tariffs, and both sides have agreed to extend certain tariff exclusion measures, the spokesperson added.

The US will suspend for one year a new rule, announced on Sept 29, that expands its "entity list" restrictions to cover any company at least 50 percent owned by one or more entities on the list. China will suspend its export control measures, unveiled on Oct 9, for one year while it studies and refines its plans, the spokesperson said.

The US will suspend for one year the tariffs imposed under its Section 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. China will reciprocally suspend its corresponding countermeasures against the US for the same duration, effective upon the US suspension, the spokesperson added.

Furthermore, the two sides reached consensus on issues including cooperation on fentanyl control, the expansion of trade in agricultural products, and the handling of specific company cases, according to the spokesperson.

They also reaffirmed the outcomes of the Madrid economic and trade consultations, during which the US made positive commitments in areas such as investment, while China and US agreed to appropriately address issues related to TikTok.

The positive outcomes of the Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultations between China and the US demonstrate that — guided by the principles of equality, respect, and mutual benefit — the two sides can find solutions to issues through dialogue and cooperation, the spokesperson said.

These outcomes did not come easily, however, China looks forward to working with the US to ensure their effective implementation, which will create greater certainty and stability in China-US economic relations and the global economy, the spokesperson added.