Coal, LNG, Agriculture
October 30, 2025
Trump says US tariffs on China cut by 10% immediately
HIGHLIGHTS
'It's 10% instead of 20%, effective immediately': Trump
US fentanyl-related tariffs sparked tit-for-tat trade conflict with China
China suspended US LNG imports for nearly eight months
US President Donald Trump said Oct. 30 that he has cut the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs on China by 10%, effective immediately, following a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, in a move that could potentially affect China's commodity trade with the US.
Trump said that China will begin "buying in very large quantities of soybeans and other things" from the US.
"I've agreed, as you know, I put a 20% tariff on China because of the fentanyl coming in, which I said is a big tariff," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington.
"And based on his statements today, I reduced it by 10%. So it's 10% instead of 20% effective immediately," he said.
Trump said Oct. 29 that he had expected to lower the fentanyl-related tariffs, as fentanyl would be one of the agenda items in his meeting with Xi on Oct. 30.
This signal from the US president could potentially de-escalate the tit-for-tat tariff conflict that began in February, after the second Trump administration imposed an initial 10% tariff on Chinese goods, citing the fentanyl crisis as a "national emergency."
In response to the US' imposition of fentanyl-related tariffs in February, China swiftly retaliated with countermeasures, including a 15% tariff on US LNG and coal and a 10% tariff on US crude oil and agricultural machinery. The US then raised the fentanyl-related tariff to 20% in March, prompting another round of Chinese retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products such as soybeans, pork and wheat.
If the US proceeds with lowering these tariffs, it could prompt China to reciprocate by reducing its own tariffs on US LNG, which currently faces a 25% levy -- comprising a 15% counter-fentanyl tariff and a 10% reciprocal tariff -- market sources said Oct. 29.
China has suspended LNG imports from the US for nearly eight months, since early February, a direct consequence of the US-China tariff dispute, according to Chinese customs data and shipping figures from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
