President Donald Trump has moved to cut U.S. fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods in half, following last month’s in-person meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Under a new executive order issued on Tuesday, the tariff will drop from 20 percent to 10 percent beginning November 10.
In the order, Trump stated:
“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has committed to take significant measures to end the flow of fentanyl to the United States, including stopping the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America and strictly controlling exports of certain other chemicals to all destinations in the world.”
Trump and Xi met on October 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea.
After the meeting, Trump said he believed Beijing would take “strong action” to stem the supply of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid that has fueled a record-breaking, deadly overdose crisis in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department will monitor China’s compliance, according to the order.
Trump also warned that if China fails to follow through, he may “modify this order as necessary.”
Trade Deal Expands Beyond Fentanyl
In a separate executive order also issued on Tuesday, Trump formalized a broader trade agreement with Xi that lowers the reciprocal U.S. tariff on Chinese imports from 34 percent to 10 percent, effective the same day.
The move is part of a larger package that includes Beijing’s agreement to suspend planned export controls on rare earth minerals and resume purchases of American soybeans, a major export for U.S. farmers.
Following the announcement, members of Congress expressed cautious optimism and skepticism about whether Beijing would keep its word.
In a statement, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, said:
“President Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping also brought hopeful progress for our farmers and the fight against fentanyl, but the ultimate measure of success will be whether China upholds its promises or lies and cheats as it usually does.”
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised the president’s efforts to protect U.S. farmers but warned against overreliance on Beijing.
“We must continue to diversify our markets, secure our supply chains, and protect our technology to end our reliance on Communist China,” Ricketts said.
Lawmakers, Officials Weigh In on Beijing’s Promises
Not all lawmakers were convinced China’s commitments would hold.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, said the fentanyl deal still leaves room for Beijing to impose restrictions in the future.
“The PRC’s promised steps to constrain the flow of fentanyl precursor materials, while a step in the right direction, don’t include several actions that would have a real effect,” Coons said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the administration’s decision to halve the tariff was made “as a show of good faith,” but that U.S. tariffs could change again depending on China’s performance.
“The Chinese have said that they will work on stopping the flow of precursors to North America, that flow into Canada, into Mexico, where they’re made into fentanyl,” Bessent said.
“We’re going to set up a very strict quantitative criteria, and we’ll revisit it in six or 12 months to see whether they’ve accomplished it.
“And my sense is the tariffs could go up or down.”
He added, “I hope that the Chinese, for the sake of the American people, will live up to this, and we could see a dramatic drop in fentanyl deaths.”
Beijing Announces Reciprocal Tariff Cuts
In a reciprocal move, China’s Customs Tariff Commission announced Nov. 5 that it would suspend an additional 24 percent tariff on U.S. goods for one year, while maintaining a 10 percent baseline tariff beginning Nov. 10, according to the state-run outlet Xinhua.
Beijing will also remove tariffs of up to 15 percent on certain U.S. agricultural goods, while maintaining a 13 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans, Xinhua reported.
The coordinated tariff reductions mark a tentative step toward de-escalating years of trade friction between Washington and Beijing, but U.S. officials emphasized that China’s follow-through on fentanyl enforcement will determine whether those cuts remain in place.
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