US-China Tariff Relief Lists $60B in Consumer Goods — Heavy-Duty Truck Parts Are Not on Them
Washington and Beijing have published the product lists for their latest tariff relief: roughly $30 billion of "non-sensitive goods" in each direction, $60 billion in total, covering consumer products like small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children's car seats on the US import side. The White House confirmed the lists September 25, and the truce itself now runs through January 10. For fleets, shops and distributors buying heavy-duty truck parts, the useful read of this news takes one sentence: nothing with a part number is in the deal, and the cost of imported engine and turbo components does not change.
Inside the $60B Relief: Small Appliances and Toys In, Strategic Goods and Auto Parts Out
The lists are specific about who benefits. According to the White House fact sheet, Chinese goods getting more favorable treatment in the US market are consumer products — small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, children's car seats. US goods heading to China with better terms include agricultural products, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices. The Associated Press reported the lists cover 77 categories of Chinese exports to the US and 1,619 items of US goods entering China, with more than 90% of listed products moving to most-favored-nation rates. Sectors both governments treat as strategic — chips, electric vehicles, batteries — were explicitly excluded.
| In the Relief Lists | Not in the Lists |
|---|---|
| Small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, children's car seats (China → US) | Medium/heavy-duty vehicle parts — remain under the 25% Section 232 tariff in force since November 2025 |
| US agricultural goods, seafood, logs, cosmetics, medical devices (US → China) | Strategic sectors: chips, EVs, batteries — explicitly excluded by both sides |
| 90%+ of listed items move to MFN rates | Everything else keeps existing duties — the average rate on mainland Chinese imports moves only ~0.9 points (20.0% to 19.1%, S&P estimate) |
That last row is the number to remember. Chris Rogers of S&P, cited by Logistics Management, calculates that even if the relief is implemented exactly as listed, the average tariff rate on Chinese imports into the US slips from 20.0% to 19.1% — a rounding error for any product not on the lists. The lists are recommendations, he notes, not yet Federal Register rule.
Truck Parts Sit Under a Different Tariff, and Nobody Touched It
Replacement parts for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles were carved into their own tariff line a year ago: a 25% Section 232 duty on MHDV trucks and parts, signed October 17, 2025 and effective November 1, 2025. This round of relief addresses Section 301 duties on consumer goods — a different instrument covering different products. Nothing published since September 25 modifies the 232 stack on parts, and neither government's list mentions automotive components at all.
The truce timeline adds one more constraint. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC News the trade truce, originally set to expire November 10, now runs through January 10 — barely three months. Any buyer delaying a purchase decision in hopes of broader tariff movement is betting on an outcome with no published schedule, against a deadline that arrives in the middle of winter freight season.
What Parts Buyers Should Do With a $60B Headline That Excludes Them
- Price expectations stay flat. The 25% Section 232 duty on MHDV parts is untouched, and the 301 relief on consumer goods does not transfer to industrial components. Landed-cost math for imported turbochargers, actuators and engine hard parts is the same this week as last week.
- Holding orders to wait for cheaper parts is a bad trade. The average rate moves less than one percentage point even in the best case, the relevant tariff was never in play, and the truce expires January 10. A truck down for a week costs more than any hypothetical saving.
- Watch January, not the headlines. The current lists are recommendations pending formal rulemaking. If parts ever do move, it will show up in the Federal Register first — that is the document to watch, not summit coverage.
- US-stocked inventory keeps its advantage. Parts already landed in US warehouses carry known, settled costs. In a policy environment that moves in 90-day windows, domestic stock is the closest thing to price certainty available.
Our Read as an Importer: Plan Your Parts Budget as If Nothing Changed
We import and stock turbochargers in the US for a living, so we read these lists for one thing: whether our landed cost moves. This round, it does not. That is also the practical answer for buyers — sourcing from settled US inventory removes the tariff question from the purchase entirely. US Perfect Auto holds brand-new replacement turbos across the Cummins, Detroit, Caterpillar and Ford platforms in US stock, with wholesale terms for shops and fleets, 24-hour dispatch, a one-year warranty and no core charge. Browse the full product range or send us a part number — the price you are quoted today is not waiting on a trade negotiation.
Sources
- The White House: "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Advances a Fair and Reciprocal Relationship with China" (September 25, 2026)
- Associated Press: "US and China release $60 billion nonsensitive product lists for tariff cuts" (September 28, 2026)
- Logistics Management: "U.S., China advance trade talks with $60 billion in potential tariff relief for non-sensitive goods" (September 28, 2026)
- NBC News: "U.S. and China agree to extend trade truce through Jan. 10, Bessent says" (September 23, 2026)
