Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Singapore-based Hinrich Foundation, tells TIME that the cuts “are a mostly symbolic way of indicating that tariffs can be cut without tackling the major challenges.”
But, she adds, it’s still a positive: “At a minimum, it provides a mechanism for future conversations about trade and tariffs which might be more serious.”
What products are covered?
The agreement recommends lower tariffs on 77 categories of Chinese products. These include bed linen, garden umbrellas, car seats, fish hooks, billiard balls, curtains, electric shavers, inflatable balls, and jute wall hangings. It also includes holiday decorations, which could bring relief to U.S. businesses if implemented before the end-of-year holiday season.
The agreement also recommends lowering tariffs on 1,619 categories of U.S. products. These include a range of food items, like butter, offal, corn, wheat, frozen meat, seafood, and foie gras. It also recommends reduced tariffs on cosmetics, wood products, scientific devices like MRI systems, rabbit hair, and coal. Several types of live animals are also included: donkeys, mules, horses, whales, dolphins, and dugongs.
