Substantive update: US trade chief says key goods will be set aside in future China tariff disputes

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington and Beijing agreed to set aside some key goods in future trade disputes or tariff measures. He cited US agricultural products and medical devices and nonsensitive Chinese consumer goods, with more details due September 28. China had not separately confirmed the full scope.

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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on September 25 that Washington and Beijing had reached arrangements in several areas so that some key goods would be set aside if future trade disputes or tariff measures arose. Reuters reported the public statement at 13:29 UTC.

Greer said the United States would send agricultural products and medical devices to China and would receive consumer goods and other nonsensitive products from China. He did not release product lists, applicable tariff rates, volume commitments, exemption procedures or an effective date, so this is not described as a broad tariff repeal.

Greer said the US government expected to release more details on September 28 about what had been achieved in recent weeks of negotiations. China had not published a corresponding document by the time of the Reuters report; N Globe therefore attributes the arrangement to the named US official while awaiting a complete bilateral text.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said he and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to extend the trade truce due November 10 through January 10, 2027. The new key-goods arrangement adds a concrete direction to the truce, but China has not publicly confirmed the new deadline or product details.

China's official account said Xi told Trump during their September 24 White House meeting that he hoped the United States would adhere to the 'correct position' of opposing Taiwan independence. Reuters noted that this is tougher than Washington's long-standing formulation that it does not support Taiwan independence; the distinction could determine whether the US is seen as actively adopting Beijing's position.

Taiwan's foreign ministry responded on September 25 that China's description distorted facts and conveyed its claims unilaterally. It said Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to its people and that its future can be decided only by them through democratic means. This was Taipei's formal response to China's summit account.

The White House still had not issued a matching summit readout, and there was no sign the Trump administration accepted China's request to shift to 'opposing' Taiwan independence. The product arrangement and the Taiwan wording demand are distinct issues in the same summit and negotiation process; available evidence does not show an exchange between them.

Verification status: corrected/updated. The product arrangement was publicly described by the named US trade representative, while China has not issued a full corresponding text; China's Taiwan wording demand and Taipei's response are public. News value: A-level major news. Origin region: United States. Primary section: Economy. Related regions: China, Taiwan and World. Latest source time: September 25, 2026, 13:29 UTC. N Globe update: September 25, 2026, 13:50 UTC.

This report is an original summary based on verified sources, not a verbatim reproduction.