The Ministry of Commerce of China Photo: VCG

It is hoped that the US side would honor its commitments, and in the future, regardless of imposing or replacing tariffs on Chinese goods on any ground, the level of US tariffs on China must not exceed the level agreed upon in the joint arrangements reached during the economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, an official with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Wednesday, in response to a question for details regarding the consensus China and the US have reached on relevant tariff arrangements.

Through subsequent consultations, the two sides should work to further remove relevant unilateral tariffs on China, thereby creating favorable conditions for expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the official said. 

Tariffs are one of the key issues in China-US economic and trade relations. Since 2025, the two sides have held multiple rounds of consultations aimed at de-escalating the "tariff war," the official said. 

In February 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed by the US government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful. Subsequently, the US launched two Section 301 investigations against many of its trading partners and indicated that it would replace the earlier IEEPA tariffs with new Section 301 tariffs, according to the official from MOFOCM. 

During this round of economic and trade consultations, the Chinese and US economic and trade teams engaged in in-depth communications on tariff issues and reached arrangements on relevant bilateral tariffs, according to the MOFCOM official.

The two sides have agreed in principle to discuss, under the framework of a trade council, a reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement covering products of comparable scale — starting at $30 billion or more on each side. For mutually agreed products of concern to both parties, it is expected that Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) tariff rates or even lower rates could apply, the official said.  

The implementation of this arrangement would not only help stabilize and expand bilateral trade between China and the US but also provide a useful reference for global openness and cooperation, according to the MOFCOM official. 

The economic and trade teams of both sides will maintain close communication to finalize the specific arrangements and advance their implementation as soon as possible, MOFCOM official added.

Global Times