by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor
Following the recent meeting in Busan, South Korea, senior officials from Washington and Beijing have confirmed a mutual decision to suspend port levies imposed on each other.
The United States will halt for one year the implementation of Section 301 measures directed at China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. In response, China will pause its countermeasures against the United States for the same period.
The announcements were made after a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It remains uncertain, however, when the two governments will formally cease collecting the fees or whether payments already made will be refunded.
Additional agreements reached include the US reducing tariffs on China related to fentanyl issues to 10%, with China adjusting its countermeasures accordingly.
The US will also suspend for one year the “50% Rule” on export controls, while China will delay enforcement of new export restrictions on rare earths introduced earlier in October.
President Trump stated that overall tariffs on Chinese goods would decrease from 57% to 47%, attributing this to progress on issues related to soybean imports, rare earths, and fentanyl.
Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that Beijing will suspend its latest rare earth export controls and special port fees targeting US ships.
