China set to cut tariffs on a broad range of US agricultural goods (corn, wheat, sorghum, meat, dairy) but kept soybeans excluded from the reduction list, part of the $30B-for-$30B Trump-Xi framework

What happened

On Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, China's commerce ministry and the White House jointly issued a tariff-reduction list under which China will cut tariffs on a broad range of U.S. goods, including corn, wheat, sorghum, meat, dairy, vegetable oils and meals (soyoil and soymeal), plus personal care products, medical equipment and coal. More than 90% of the covered products will be exempt from all additional bilateral tariffs and revert to most-favored-nation rates. Soybeans were explicitly excluded: U.S. soybeans still face an additional 10% tariff, which traders say is too high for private Chinese crushers to absorb. The cuts sit inside a reciprocal framework — roughly $30 billion of tariff relief each way ($60 billion total) — with the U.S. cutting tariffs on Chinese toys, household appliances, baby products, kitchen and bathroom goods and holiday items. The two sides also agreed to create a trade council and an agriculture working group under it, with the group's first meeting expected before the end of 2026.

Who’s affected

• U.S. agricultural exporters and commodity traders — corn, wheat, sorghum, meat and dairy exporters stand to regain market access at most-favored-nation rates
• Soybean market — the key U.S. export was excluded and still faces an additional 10% tariff; the most-active CBOT soybean contract traded down 1.38% at $13-3/4 per bushel on the news
• Sinograin and COFCO — Chinese state buyers continuing to purchase U.S. soybeans despite the tariff, with >12M metric tons bought to date
• U.S. farm-equipment and fertilizer suppliers — second-order beneficiaries if restored trade flows lift U.S. farm incomes
• Chinese importers of U.S. personal care, medical equipment and coal — also on China's tariff-reduction list

Sources

srnnews.comtradingview.comchennaionline.com