Trump and Xi meet September 24 with the China truce and 178 tariff exclusions expiring November 9-10
President Xi visits the White House on September 24, 2026, and U.S. and Chinese negotiators opened talks in New York on September 20 with a truce extension on the agenda. The truce expires November 10. The night before, at 11:59 p.m. on November 9, the 178 China Section 301 product exclusions and the one-year suspension of the port fees and the proposed 100% duties on cranes and chassis both run out.
What this affects
China| 9903.88.69 | China Section 301 product exclusions, expire 11:59 p.m. November 9, 2026 |
| 9903.88.70 | China Section 301 product exclusions, expire 11:59 p.m. November 9, 2026 |
Codes are a starting point, not a classification. Confirm your own 10-digit HTS before you rely on a rate, using our HTS classification guide.
The update
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York on September 20, 2026, four days before President Xi Jinping's state visit to the White House on September 24. Reuters reports that extending the tariff truce, which expires on November 10, 2026, is on the agenda along with rare earths and critical minerals, fentanyl precursor controls and artificial intelligence, that the U.S. side views China's follow-through on critical minerals as falling short, and that both sides have tempered expectations of a breakthrough. Greer said the administration will keep pursuing balanced trade with China by monitoring the implementation of recent commitments and optimizing trade in non-sensitive goods. The two measures below expire the night before the truce does, and their fate follows it.
On December 1, 2025 USTR extended the 178 exclusions from the China Section 301 tariffs that were due to lapse on November 29, 2025. The notice extends them until November 10, 2026, with the exclusions under headings 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70 expiring at 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on November 9, 2026. The extension followed the trade and economic arrangement announced by the two presidents on November 1, 2025, under which China agreed to extend its own exclusions through December 31, 2026. USTR's September 2, 2026 conforming amendments, covered separately on this tracker, kept the exclusions aligned with the July 1 statistical reporting changes, so they remain in use.
In a separate Section 301 action on China's targeting of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, USTR suspended the responsive actions for one year, from 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 10, 2025 through 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 9, 2026. The suspension covers the service fees on Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated and Chinese-built vessels and the proposed 100% duties on ship-to-shore cranes and intermodal chassis and parts.
Nothing in either notice extends past November 9. Unless USTR publishes a further extension, excluded goods entered from November 10 pay the full Section 301 rate for their list, and the maritime fees and duties come back into force.
Impact
An importer that has been entering a product duty-free under one of the 178 exclusions goes back to the full Section 301 rate on November 10, with no change to the product, the supplier or the price. For a List 3 item that is 25 percent on top of the ordinary rate, plus the 12.5 percent forced-labor duty that already applies to China. Goods on the water in early November land on the wrong side of the line if entry slips past the 9th. Port operators and chassis lessors face the 100 percent crane and chassis duties for the first time.
What to watch
Both previous extensions came late: the November 2025 notice was published on December 1, after the old expiry, so a further extension can arrive after the cliff and should not be assumed either way. The exclusions are tied to the November 2025 arrangement with China, so their fate follows the state of that deal. The exclusion headings are claimed at entry, which means an entry filed on or after November 10 without a valid heading pays the full rate even if the goods shipped in October. A summit statement is not an extension: the exclusions and the maritime suspension change only when USTR publishes a notice, and an announcement on September 24 may cover the truce without naming either of them.
How to prepare
- 1Read the September 24 summit readout for three things
A truce extension past November 10, any mention of the Section 301 exclusions, and any mention of the port fees. Anything not named should be planned as expiring.
- 2List every entry claimed under 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70
Pull the last twelve months from your broker and total the duty the exclusions saved; that is the exposure from November 10.
- 3Land Q4 stock before November 9
Entry date decides. Book October sailings so containers clear customs before the deadline, and hold nothing in bond past it.
- 4Re-quote at the full rate
Model each excluded SKU at its list rate plus the 12.5 percent forced-labor duty and decide now whether the China source still works.
- 5Check the maritime action if you lease or buy port equipment
Ship-to-shore cranes and intermodal chassis of Chinese origin face the proposed 100 percent duty once the suspension ends.
- 6Watch the Federal Register in the last week of October
A further extension, if one comes, will appear as a USTR notice. Set the alert and do not plan on it.
Sources
- How Trump and Xi went from tariff war to trade truce · Reuters (via WHTC) · September 20, 2026
- US Treasury's Bessent to discuss AI, rare earths with China's He, source says · Reuters (via The Korea Times) · September 19, 2026
- Notice of Product Exclusion Extensions: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation · Federal Register · December 1, 2025
- USTR Extends Exclusions from China Section 301 Tariffs Related to Forced Technology Transfer Investigation · Office of the U.S. Trade Representative · November 26, 2025
- Notice of Modification of Section 301 Action: China's Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance · Federal Register · November 13, 2025
- Trump 2.0 tariff tracker · Trade Compliance Resource Hub · September 10, 2026
We summarize published reporting and official notices. Always confirm rates and dates against the Federal Register or your customs broker before acting on them.