“China” secretly creates a list of “125% tariff-exempt US products” to mitigate the impact of the trade war
“China” secretly compiles a list of “125% tariff-exempt US goods” to mitigate the impact of the trade war and has begun informally informing companies.
On April 30, 2025, at 11:05 AM, Reuters reported that sources indicated China had compiled a list of U.S. goods that would be exempt from the 125% import tariff and had begun informally notifying companies. China aims to quietly mitigate the impact of the trade war with the U.S.
China has previously exempted some goods from tariffs, including some medicines, microelectronic chips and aircraft engines, and has also asked companies to declare goods essential to their operations that are exempt from the tariffs, Reuters reported on Friday. The whitelist has not yet been released.
This quiet approach has allowed China, which previously vowed to fight the US to the end if it did not lift the 145% tariffs, to maintain a public stance while making tangible progress in mitigating the economic impact.
Sources indicate that it is unclear how many items and what types of products are on the white list, as Chinese authorities have not yet publicly disclosed this information.
One of the sources, who works for a pharmaceutical company that distributes US-made drugs in China, said the company was contacted by authorities in Shanghai's Pudong district on Monday about the existence of a list of goods that would be exempt from tariffs. The company had previously applied for a tariff exemption because it relies heavily on US technology.
"We still rely on a lot of technology from the United States," the source said.
Another source said some companies were advised to informally contact government agencies to ask if their imported goods were eligible for the exemption.
Further reports indicate that this list of tariff-exempt goods continues to expand. Most recently, China exempted imports of ethane from the United States, an exemption that several ethane processing companies had previously requested, as the US is their sole supplier of ethane.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he believes a trade deal with China is near, and emphasized, "But it has to be a fair deal."
Two other sources said the Chinese government is surveying companies to gauge the impact of the tariff war. At a recent meeting, officials in eastern China asked foreign business lobby groups to provide details.
Authorities in the port city of Xiamen in Fujian province, a hub for electronics manufacturing, also sent questionnaires to companies on Sunday to assess the impact of the tariffs.
The survey groups included textile and semiconductor companies, and included questions about their products and trade with the United States, including the estimated impact of tariffs from both countries on their businesses.
Reference: reuters.com
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