The United States and China have identified $60 billion in combined trade that could benefit from reduced tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced, “President Trump is unlocking improved market access for about 30 percent of U.S. exports to China, while benefiting consumers with imports from China of household goods, toys, and other products.”
Improving market access will benefit U.S. exporters, who suffered a 29% drop in sales to China from 2024 to 2025.
Cutting U.S. tariffs will help families buying toys and other products. From 2024 to 2025, the effective U.S. tariff on imports covered by this deal increased from 4.1% to 24.9%.
A Good Start
The proposed U.S. tariff cuts only affect 10% of U.S. imports from China, suggesting that there is room for improvement. More tariff cuts on non-strategic goods would benefit Americans who import those goods and would allow China to earn more dollars to spend on U.S. exports.
It is encouraging to see the Trump Administration recognize that tariffs on toys, microwaves, and holiday decorations and the resulting retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports were self-inflicted wounds. But these tariff cuts should be a first step, not the final destination.
A good follow-up would be to reduce tariffs on imports of goods supplied by U.S. allies. Over 90% of U.S. goods imports last year came from countries other than China. As USTR Greer pointed out, cutting tariffs on imports from China will benefit American consumers. The same logic applies to tariff cuts on imports from other countries, too.
This is especially important for imports we can use to make things in the USA. Cutting some tariffs on toys from China is nice, but cutting the 50% tariffs imposed on steel, aluminum, and copper from the rest of the world would be even nicer.