Donald Trump to meet Xi Jinping at White House next week: What’s on trade and tariff agenda

Trade tensions between the United States and China are expected to dominate talks when US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on September 24.

The two countries reached a fragile trade truce in October last year, easing a tariff battle that had sharply increased tensions. However, they have yet to reach a broad, permanent trade agreement.

During the escalation in April 2025, the US raised its base tariff on Chinese imports to as high as 145%, while China responded with tariffs of up to 125%. Both sides have since lowered many of those rates.

Where does the US-China tariff row stand now?

Still, tariffs remain a major contentious issue between the two nations and are still applicable across a range of products and industries. This has resulted in a complicated system of duties.

According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, cited by AFP news agency, the effective US tariff rate on Chinese imports was 22.8% in July. That was the highest effective rate among the United States' major trading partners. As per the report, steel and aluminium are among the Chinese goods that face highest effective tariff rates in the US at 40.5%.

China maintains a 10% levy on all US goods, coupled with sector-specific rates applicable. For instance, Beijing applies 15% tariffs on liquid natural gas coming from the US.

Despite these tensions, trade between the two nations remains active and even growing. The report cited Chinese customs data to note that the total imports and exports hit $400.8 billion in January through August this year, marking a 5.4% rise from the same period in 2025.

The trade is unbalanced, with 75% coming from Chinese exports.

Beijing's soaring trade surplus has long ruffled feathers in Washington.

At the upcoming meeting, it is expected that Trump will raise tariffs as the main issue. He earlier told reporters that he would be discussing "almost everything" with Xi at the summit.

Currently, the two sides are discussing tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods from each side. US and Chinese officials will meet this weekend ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.