in effect
This is a presidential executive order (EO 14358, signed November 4, 2025) that extends a temporary pause on elevated U.S. tariffs against Chinese imports, in exchange for commitments China made in a bilateral trade arrangement. It implements the terms of a deal reached between President Biden and President Xi Jinping on October 30, 2025, in South Korea.
The higher “reciprocal” tariff rates on Chinese goods that were previously imposed under the April 2025 emergency declarations remain suspended — meaning they do not go back into effect. The lower 10 percent additional tariff rate that replaced them stays in place instead. That suspension now runs until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 10, 2026. In return, China committed to lift or pause its own retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. agricultural products through December 31, 2026, extend a tariff exclusion process for U.S. imports through November 10, 2026, halt export controls on rare earth elements and critical minerals, and purchase U.S. agricultural exports including soybeans, sorghum, and logs. The order explicitly states that if China does not follow through on its commitments, the President may reverse this suspension and restore the higher tariff rates.
U.S. importers buying goods from China continue to pay a 10 percent additional tariff rather than the significantly higher rates that were in effect before the May 2025 pause — a lower cost environment that affects retailers, manufacturers, and consumers who rely on Chinese-made products. U.S. agricultural producers (particularly soybean, sorghum, and timber exporters) stand to benefit from China’s commitment to purchase American farm goods and lift retaliatory tariffs. U.S. semiconductor companies and firms in the defense and energy sectors are also named as beneficiaries of China’s pledges to ease export controls on critical minerals and reduce retaliation in that supply chain.