Trump reduces China tariffs to 47% after Xi meeting

United States President Donald Trump says he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to trim tariffs on China.

Trump said the reduction was in exchange for China cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, resuming U.S. soybean purchases and keeping rare earths exports flowing.

Trump’s face-to-face talks with Xi in the South Korean city of Busan, their first since 2019, marked the finale of the U.S. president’s whirlwind Asia trip on which he also touted trade breakthroughs with South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asian nations.

“I thought it was an amazing meeting,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after he departed Busan, ranking the talks a “12 out of 10”, on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

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Trump said tariffs imposed on Chinese imports would be cut to 47% from 57% by halving the rate of tariffs related to trade in fentanyl precursor drugs to 10% from 20%.

Trump said Xi will work “very hard to stop the flow” of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of American overdose deaths.

The tariff was reduced “because I believe they are really taking strong action,” he added.

The Star