Cranes load containers onto ships at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, US, on Thursday, March 6, 2025.Photo:VCG

China announced on Monday that it will continue to suspend a 24 percent additional tariff on imports from the US for another two months while retaining a 10 percent additional tariff, as part of efforts to implement the consensus reached during the China-US leaders' meeting in Washington, according to the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.

The adjustment, approved by the State Council, will take effect at 1:01 pm on Tuesday, November 10. It applies to the additional tariff measures set out in Announcement No. 4 of 2025 and was made in accordance with relevant Chinese laws and regulations and fundamental principles of international law, the commission said in a notice.

In a separate statement explaining the decision, the Office of the Customs Tariff Commission said China has noted repeated US statements about plans to replace tariffs imposed under the US’ International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which have been ruled invalid, with tariffs under Section 301 of US trade law.

China will continue to closely monitor subsequent US measures and adjust its corresponding tariff countermeasures as appropriate, the office said.

The continued suspension of some additional tariffs on US goods will help provide a relatively stable and predictable policy environment for business cooperation between the two countries and promote the sustained, stable and positive development of bilateral economic and trade relations, according to the office.

In a related move, China's Ministry of Transport announced on Monday that it will continue to suspend the collection of special port fees on US-linked vessels and the launch of an investigation into the impact on the security and development interests of its shipping, shipbuilding and related industrial and supply chains for another two months, until January 10, 2027.

The US has also moved to extend several trade measures involving China. In notices issued on Friday, the Office of the US Trade Representative extended 178 exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and prolonged the suspension of measures targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for another two months, through January 9, 2027. 

Separately, the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security extended the suspension of a rule that would expand export controls to cover affiliates of certain listed entities through January 10, 2027, according to a final rule effective Monday.

The latest extension builds on a tariff arrangement announced in November 2025, under which China kept the 24 percent additional tariff on US imports on hold for one year while retaining the 10 percent rate. That decision followed China-US economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025, where the two sides reached a consensus on a range of trade issues.

The two sides later agreed to extend the broader arrangements reached in Kuala Lumpur until January 10, 2027, during their eighth round of economic and trade consultations held in New York and Washington from September 20 to 23, 2026. They also agreed to continue discussions aimed at reaching mutually agreed solutions, according to China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

MOFCOM said in a statement on September 28 that the extension would give both sides room to assess the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur arrangements and consider how to advance bilateral economic and trade relations. Combining a time-limited extension with continued discussions would also help provide a relatively stable and predictable policy environment for business cooperation, it said.

The ministry also expressed confidence that both sides would continue working toward a positive solution on a further extension through high-level economic and trade engagements before the end of the year.

Global Times