China will keep its 24 per cent additional tariff on most US goods suspended for another two months, while retaining a 10 per cent levy, extending its trade truce with Washington into January. The decision avoids an immediate return of the higher tariff, but leaves exporters and shipping companies facing another deadline early in 2027.
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said the extension would take effect at 13:01 Beijing time on Tuesday 10 November. It applies to measures set out in Announcement No. 4 of 2025 and implements the outcomes and consensus reached by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at their September meeting in Washington.
The tariff decision is accompanied by extensions affecting port charges, Chinese shipbuilding and US export controls. Together, they preserve the current pause in several trade restrictions. They do not, however, finalise the wider package of reciprocal tariff cuts proposed at the September summit.
Higher tariff remains suspended
The distinction between suspension and removal is central to the announcement. China is keeping the 24 per cent additional tariff suspended rather than abolishing it, and the 10 per cent additional tariff on US goods remains in place. The extension therefore maintains the existing tariff arrangement for most US imports rather than introducing a new reduction.
For exporters, the immediate consequence is that the suspended levy will not return when the current pause expires. That gives businesses a further two-month window under the existing terms, but no settled tariff position beyond the extension. The decision keeps the truce running without resolving the outstanding negotiations behind it.
The arrangement traces back to talks in Kuala Lumpur in 2025 and was rolled forward in September 2026. The latest extension continues that approach: preserving temporary relief while the two governments work with an agreement whose broader terms remain unfinished.
Proposed US$60 billion package remains unfinished
The September meeting between Xi and Trump produced a proposed package of reciprocal tariff cuts worth about US$60 billion. That included roughly US$17 billion of US farm goods that China imported in 2024. The package has still not been finalised, leaving a gap between the summit proposals and a completed agreement.
The farm goods figure refers to imports in 2024. It is not a confirmed new purchase commitment under the latest extension. Similarly, the two-month suspension should not be treated as confirmation that the proposed US$60 billion package has been agreed. The commission described its decision as implementing the summit’s outcomes and consensus.
A separate uncertainty concerns the legal basis for US tariffs. Beijing said it had noted repeated US statements about replacing tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which courts have struck down, with duties under Section 301. China said it would adjust its countermeasures in light of developments.
That leaves the Chinese response dependent not only on negotiations over tariff levels, but also on what Washington does next. The announcement does not settle how Beijing would respond to replacement Section 301 duties. It preserves scope for changes to its countermeasures as the US position develops.
Shipping and export-control pauses extended
China’s Ministry of Transport has extended its suspension of special port fees on US-linked vessels until 10 January 2027. That keeps another element of the trade pause in place alongside the tariff suspension, avoiding an immediate resumption of those charges.
Washington has matched the timetable with extensions of its own. It has extended 178 Section 301 exclusions and paused measures targeting Chinese shipbuilding through 9 January 2027. The US Commerce Department has also delayed an affiliates export-control rule until 10 January.
The dates bring the separate measures into a closely aligned January window, although their stated deadlines are not identical. Tariffs, port fees, shipbuilding measures and export controls remain distinct parts of the arrangement. Extending them together sustains the pause across more than goods tariffs alone.
January deadline leaves longer-term uncertainty
The extension removes an immediate tariff cliff, but only for about eight weeks. Business planning and holiday-season supply chains still face uncertainty over whether the pause will be renewed, replaced by a fuller agreement or followed by renewed restrictions. None of those outcomes has been confirmed.
For Britain, the potential exposure includes the price of Chinese components and the possibility of goods being diverted towards UK and EU markets if US-China trade restrictions tighten again. The supplied decisions do not establish any change in British prices or trade flows, but the unresolved tariff position leaves those risks relevant.
The next test is whether the temporary extensions lead to a completed tariff package before the January deadlines. Until then, the 10 per cent Chinese levy remains, the higher additional tariff stays suspended, and both governments retain measures that have been paused rather than permanently withdrawn.
