China and the United States have agreed to expand agricultural trade through tariff reductions and tackle non-tariff barriers and market access issues, China’s commerce ministry said on Saturday after this week’s summit in Beijing. <\/p>\n
The agreements are “preliminary” and will be “finalized as soon as possible,” the ministry said following US President Donald Trump’s visit. <\/p>\n
China’s farm imports from the US still face an additional 10% levy after last year’s rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs sharply curtailed trade, which fell 65.7% year-on-year to $8.4 billion in 2025, according \u200cto US \u200cDepartment of Agriculture data. <\/p>\n
The commerce ministry said \u200cboth \u2060sides aim to \u2060promote two-way trade, including in agricultural products, through measures such as reciprocal tariff reductions across a range of goods. It did not specify which products. <\/p>\n
China resumed purchases of some US farm goods after an October meeting, fulfilling a US-stated commitment to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans by the end \u2060of February. It has also purchased some US \u200cwheat cargoes and large \u200cvolumes of sorghum. <\/p>\n
Market watchers expect a 10% cut in soybean tariffs, which could \u200callow private Chinese crushers to resume purchases that were \u200clargely sidelined during last year’s US harvest, when state crop traders were the only buyers. <\/p>\n
“Tariff reductions on agricultural products would mark a normalization of China-US farm trade, allowing commercial buyers to re-enter the market,” \u200csaid Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. <\/p>\n
The ministry said both sides agreed to “resolve or \u2060make substantive progress” \u2060on non-tariff barriers and market access issues. <\/p>\n
China will work to address US concerns over registration of beef facilities and poultry exports from certain US states, it said. <\/p>\n
Beijing on Friday granted five-year registration extensions to 425 US beef plants that had largely been shut out after their registrations lapsed last year, and approved new five-year registrations for 77 additional US facilities. <\/p>\n
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday the US expects China to buy “double-digit billions” worth of US farm goods over the next three years, although neither side has yet released details on specific products, values or volume. <\/p>\n