China extends its pause on 24% tariffs, rare earth controls and US port fees into January

China extended its suspension of a 24% tariff on US imports for two months while keeping a 10% rate in place, the finance ministry said^1,2. The extension carries the trade truce into January¹. Beijing had first announced a one-year suspension of the additional tariffs³.

China’s Ministry of Transport announced on Monday that it will continue to suspend the collection of special port fees on US ships until January 2027⁷. The transport ministry said China is also continuing to suspend a probe into shipping and shipbuilding supply chain security⁴. That investigation looks at the impact of US measures on China’s shipping, shipbuilding and related industries⁹.

Beijing also extended its suspension of new rare earth export controls until January^5,6. The pause covers the controls announced in October 2025 and now runs to 10 January¹⁰. China introduced export controls on certain rare earths in April 2025 and expanded them further in October of that year⁵. A separate suspension of China’s 2024 ban on gallium, germanium and antimony exports to the United States runs on its own timetable¹⁰.

Why it matters to investors

The extensions came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday, urging Beijing to buy more farm goods¹¹. Soybeans rose as the US pressed China on those purchases¹¹. The two officials pressed He to deliver on the commitments made in the Busan trade deal¹². The US has also urged China to uphold the rare earth exports set out in that deal¹³.

The port fees trace back to an investigation launched by the US Trade Representative’s office in April 2024 into China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors⁸. The Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections has clouded the outlook for US-China trade, even as the port fee truce was extended⁸. For exporters, shippers and buyers of rare earths, the extensions keep current terms in place for two more months^1,5,7.

What to watch

Each measure now ends in January, which pushes the next decisions on tariffs, port fees and rare earth controls into the new year^1,7,10. In effect, the US and China have moved their port fee showdown into January⁹.

The other marker is whether Beijing meets the Busan commitments on farm purchases and rare earth supplies that Bessent and Greer raised with He Lifeng^11,12,13. The separate timetable for the gallium, germanium and antimony suspension is a further date for buyers of those metals to track¹⁰.