Instead of swinging for a grand bargain, the US and China have opted for something more pragmatic. The White House confirmed that President Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to establish a new “Board of Trade” framework at their latest summit, a mechanism designed to manage bilateral trade flows on a product-by-product basis rather than through sweeping, all-or-nothing negotiations.
The framework would create stable trade lanes for permitted goods while keeping advanced technologies, particularly cutting-edge semiconductors, firmly off the table.
What the Board of Trade actually does
The concept reportedly originated during March talks in Paris, where top US and Chinese officials laid the groundwork for a more modular approach to trade management. Under the proposed structure, the Office of the US Trade Representative and China’s Commerce Ministry would work together to identify categories of imports eligible for lower tariffs.
The two sides could jointly flag $30 to $40 billion worth of imports for tariff reductions, while simultaneously raising duties on goods deemed sensitive to national security or strategic competition.
