The United States and China have taken significant steps to ease months of escalating trade tensions, rolling back a series of punitive actions following a high-level meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Busan. Officials from both countries described the talks as “a great success”, clearing the path for a coordinated reduction in tariffs and trade barriers.
Beijing confirmed that it has suspended its export ban on so-called “dual-use” materials, while the US has reduced fentanyl-related duties from 20% to 10%. China has also lifted its “special port fees” on US-operated or US-built vessels. The suspension took effect at 13:01 local time on Monday and will remain in force for one year. Washington simultaneously paused its own port charges on Chinese-built and operated ships.
The latest measures represent a gradual unwinding of tariffs that, at their peak, had reached triple-digit levels and severely strained trade flows between the world’s two largest economies. Supply chains were disrupted as both sides hardened their positions during a period of heightened rivalry over industrial policy and maritime influence.
The détente comes as the global shipbuilding industry draws renewed attention. Although the US once dominated the market in the post-war decades, it now accounts for only 0.1% of global commercial ship production. Asian shipyards clearly lead the sector, with China building nearly half of all new vessels, followed by South Korea and Japan.
In another reciprocal move, Beijing has suspended sanctions on several US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s major shipbuilders. The one-year suspension took effect on 10 November and aligns with Washington’s decision to halt port fees on China-linked vessels. China had sanctioned the subsidiaries in October, accusing them of aiding a US “Section 301” investigation that deemed China’s shipbuilding dominance “unreasonable.”
The sanctions had barred Chinese organisations and individuals from cooperating with Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp. A separate probe into whether the US investigation threatened China’s shipbuilding supply chain and “security and development interests” has also been paused.
The tapering of trade measures extends beyond the maritime sector. China this week said it would continue a one-year suspension of additional tariffs on US goods, maintaining them at 10%, while also easing duties on soybeans and other American agricultural imports.
Beijing has further halted enforcement of export restrictions on strategic metals such as gallium, germanium and antimony, all essential to high-tech manufacturing. A one-year freeze on rare earths technology export restrictions has also taken effect.
China’s commerce ministry noted that the US agreed to suspend export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies where those entities hold at least a 50% stake, marking another step towards stabilising bilateral economic relations.
The coordinated rollbacks highlight a broader shift toward de-escalation after prolonged tensions, though observers caution that the underlying strategic competition between the two powers remains firmly in place.
