President Donald Trump says he wants to create a “new trade board” to oversee trade with China. Business groups aren’t sure exactly how it would work, but they know they want to be involved.
K Street advocates are increasingly hopeful that the administration’s vague proposal for a trade watchdog with China, an idea first toyed with by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in March, could evolve into a major way to cut tariffs between the world’s two largest economies.
It is the latest sign that the administration is withdrawing from its trade war against China that has dominated much of Trump’s first year in office. Businesses and their lobbyists are now rushing to take advantage of the opening.
“It’s very clear in our view that the posture in the administration has changed,” said one official from a major industry group, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions. “There is no longer that drive to fundamentally change China’s economic ways. . . .”
The Trump administration is expected to soon provide more public guidance on the new body, which will include US and Chinese officials, and give the public an opportunity to comment on the idea. Trade groups and companies are already preparing to present their views, according to more than half a dozen industry group leaders and CEOs who spoke to POLITICO, and they are increasing personal outreach to administration officials, too.
The agreement to create a “trade board” was one of the few tangible outcomes from Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month.According to the White House,the board will manage trade in products they described as “non-sensitive” between the two countries. China’s Ministry of Commerce described the proposal more carefully on its ownpeak reading,saying the two sides “agreed in principle” to discuss a broad framework of proportionate tax cuts.
The talks, both countries said, would include $30 billion or more in exports from each country, representing a large portion of the more than $650 billion in U.S.-China trade in goods and services.based on US data from 2024.But additional information is scarce.
“To me, it’s a good move,” Greer said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday. “My thinking is that there is a certain amount, a minimum amount on each side that we agree, ‘yeah, we have to do this business.'”
Since the idea was first floated, Trump administration officials have floated several concepts related to the plan, describing a system that would reduce tariffs on the types of goods that are mutually beneficial, while placing higher barriers on others, according to three people briefed on U.S. officials, who were not identified to discuss the ongoing plans.
Leaders discussed prioritizing low-tech and consumer goods for tariff cuts, the people said, although officials also floated traditional trade channels — such as Chinese purchase pledges, quotas and other tools to balance trade flows.
Talks with the Chinese remain fluid, the people stressed, adding that the administration is still removing elements of the system — a sign the transparency industry is looking for is unlikely to come immediately.
“The administration looks forward to engaging more with the business community on this historic policy that demonstrates our commitment to better managing trade between the United States and China,” said a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing plans. “More details are forthcoming,” the official added.
The main question industry groups are eager to consider: which products will qualify for new tax cuts. The administration has not shared the details publicly or with the private sector, either, several industry leaders say.
“We don’t know what they mean by ‘non-sensitive products,'” said Ed Brzytwa, vice president of global business at the Consumer Technology Association, which represents companies like Apple, Google and Meta. “I think Ambassador Greer has not been clear about it, and neither have the Chinese.”
Brzytwa said his group plans to push for tax exemptions for a “full range” of consumer technology products, including phones, tablets, controllers and video game consoles to qualify under the system. “Are they not sensitive? We can argue,” Brzytwa said.
Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the Apparel and Footwear Association of America, which represents more than 1,100 apparel and footwear brands, said his member companies are also pushing for a broader interpretation of the term.
“‘Non-sensitive’ can mean things that aren’t made here,” Lamar said, referring to companies seeking relief for manufacturing inputs and equipment used to support U.S. production. “We have a long list there too.”
One possible starting point: using a list of products that were exempt from Trump’s first-term duties on China — things like clothing, shoes, toys and home goods — said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, which represents companies such as Walmart and Macy’s.
At the CFR event, Greer suggested the administration’s approach to the world’s second-largest economy is changing, even as it maintains high tariffs on China compared to other countries.
“We’ve come to terms with the fact that there’s not going to be a big, deep reform of the way China’s political system works, including all these economic things,” Greer said. “But we can have managed trade, maybe we can have reforms alongside managed trade in the interests of stability and continued economic peace between our countries.”
Trump’s trade policies could make it difficult to define which products qualify for relief.
Since his first term, the administration has rapidly expanded the definition of “national security” to include more products than those typically considered sensitive, said Ed Gresser, vice president and director of international trade and markets at the Development Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
He cited Commerce Department decisions that put even products like metal caskets under national security tariffs.
“Everything would be easier if we held to the idea that national security matters are very systemically important and limited, rather than anything that could be national security on any given day,” Gresser said.
The administration will have to make several decisions on the issue in the next few months if it wants to make it ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit scheduled for September in Washington. Trump has “three and a half months to get this thing going,” said Wendy Cutler, a former top U.S. trade negotiator.
“There will be pressure to show progress,” Cutler added, especially “given how few deliverables came out of this last meeting.”
