# USTR and MOFCOM target reciprocal tariff cuts on $60B of trade *The bilateral Board of Trade held its first working meeting to negotiate duties on $30 billion of non-sensitive merchandise on each side.* **Published:** November 14, 2026 **By:** Mina Okoro **Section:** Trade & Industrial Policy — Cross-border **Format:** Policy Tracker **Confidence:** high **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/trade-policy/ustr-mofcom-target-reciprocal-tariff-cuts-60b-trade-1423 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - USTR and MOFCOM opened talks on reciprocal tariff relief covering $60 billion in bilateral trade - Framework targets 77 U.S. consumer tariff lines and 1,619 Chinese agricultural and raw material lines - Implementation date remains unannounced ahead of the Trump-Xi summit on Nov. 18, 2026 ![A worker sits in an open shipping container filled with electronic components at a busy port amid bilateral trade negotiations. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-11-14-7cca7bb08e5e.webp) *A worker sits in an open shipping container filled with electronic components at a busy port amid bilateral trade negotiations. (AI-generated image)* Trade officials from the United States and China convened the first working meeting of their bilateral Board of Trade on Nov. 14, 2026 to negotiate reciprocal tariff reductions. The talks center on lowering duties on $30 billion of non-sensitive goods on each side, creating a combined $60 billion framework. The volume represents about 30% of U.S. merchandise exported to China. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and China's Ministry of Commerce held the video conference, both agencies said in separate statements. Both trade authorities described the bilateral exchange as constructive and focused on balanced reciprocal commerce. The bilateral session implements an operating structure established in September 2026, when trade delegations drafted procedural rules in New York and Washington. That agreement designated the Board of Trade as a permanent government-to-government consultation channel. Under the terms of reference, the United States proposed reducing duties to most-favored-nation levels across 77 Harmonized Tariff Schedule lines. The targeted goods consist of consumer products where domestic buyers depend heavily on overseas production. The proposed U.S. reductions cover microwave ovens, children's toys and small household electrical appliances. U.S. importers and consumer retail distributors absorb the bulk of border charges imposed under existing Section 301 tariff schedules. China presented a reciprocal list covering 1,619 product categories for tariff reductions. The Chinese slate focuses on agricultural products and raw industrial commodities, including field corn, grain sorghum, frozen boneless beef and thermal coal. Chinese animal feed processors and livestock breeding operations face elevated import costs under current retaliatory duty rates. Easing those tariffs would lower procurement expenditures for livestock feed grains imported from agricultural terminals across the U.S. Midwest. The agricultural slate also touches non-tariff administrative barriers that slowed bilateral shipments over past seasons. Previous negotiating sessions in Beijing and Seoul addressed quarantine inspections, dairy safety holds and facility registrations for U.S. beef and poultry processing plants. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directed the American negotiating team. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng oversaw the delegation from Beijing, following preliminary preparatory calls completed on Nov. 6, 2026. The Board of Trade mechanism originated during bilateral presidential meetings in Beijing in May 2026. Negotiators subsequently held technical rounds in Geneva, London, Stockholm and Madrid to draft operating charters for trade and investment councils. The meeting takes place four days ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, scheduled for Nov. 18 to 20, 2026. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping plan to hold a bilateral head-of-state summit during the gathering. Lowering duties on non-sensitive consumer products offers direct margin relief to consumer goods supply chains. Contract manufacturing plants in southern Chinese export hubs manufacture over 70% of select small household appliances distributed throughout North American department stores. A reduction in reciprocal duties could also stabilize intermediate trade routes across East Asia. Industrial manufacturing operations across South Korea, China and Japan have absorbed volatile compliance and transshipment costs during repeated rounds of bilateral tariff adjustments. Electronic components and precision controls used in microwave ovens and small appliances often route through regional suppliers before final assembly in mainland plants. Lower U.S. import tariffs reduce immediate financial pressure on assembly contractors to relocate facilities outside China. The tariff adjustments deliberately exclude strategic technological sectors and critical dual-use manufacturing lines. The U.S. administration maintains trade barriers on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence hardware, high-capacity electric vehicle batteries and critical mineral processing. American trade negotiators characterized the Board of Trade as an instrument of managed trade designed to stabilize consumer pricing. Washington aims to protect domestic capital goods industries while maintaining tariff relief strictly on goods without domestic manufacturing capacity. Bilateral teams agreed to lengthen cooperation items and shorten dispute lists, China's Ministry of Commerce said. Mutual tariff cuts must proceed on an equal and reciprocal footing, the ministry said. American agricultural producers have sought tariff normalization to recover lost market share across major commodities. U.S. agricultural exports to China exceeded $29 billion annually before retaliatory tariffs prompted state buyers in Beijing to substitute South American supplies. The official notices released on Nov. 14, 2026 do not state an effective implementation date for the tariff cuts. Neither government published binding purchase targets for agricultural commodities or specified whether reciprocal duty cuts depend on volume commitments. Both sides confirmed that implementing the tariff cuts requires domestic statutory and administrative procedures. Trade agencies in Washington must execute Section 301 procedural filings, while the State Council Customs Tariff Commission in Beijing must approve domestic tariff schedules. Neither government published corporate-level tariff allocations or identified individual enterprise beneficiaries in the initial release. Border authorities confirmed that the prospective tariff reductions apply universally across the specified 77 U.S. and 1,619 Chinese tariff lines, agency officials said. Trade working groups plan to submit formalized recommendations to cabinet ministers before the Shenzhen summit opens. Bilateral delegations will review technical classification tables during ministerial sessions scheduled for Nov. 18, 2026. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | U.S.-China Board of Trade tariff reduction | intermediate component suppliers gain margin stability as Chinese appliance lines face lower U.S. border duties | livestock feed mills lower procurement costs across 1,619 tariff lines including corn and sorghum | electronics parts makers avoid assembly line relocations from Chinese export hubs | consumer retail supply chains see tariff risk ease on $60 billion in bilateral merchandise | ## In this story - **Policy:** Tariffs - **Impact:** Cost Structure, Supply Chain, Pricing ## Primary sources 1. mofcom.gov.cn 2. ustr.gov 3. imaeil.com 4. transpacbound.com 5. newsis.com --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "USTR and MOFCOM target reciprocal tariff cuts on $60B of trade," November 14, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/trade-policy/ustr-mofcom-target-reciprocal-tariff-cuts-60b-trade-1423