The United States is expected to disclose more details on its latest trade negotiations with China on Monday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday, after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks at the White House.
Greer said negotiators had made progress in several areas and reached arrangements covering certain categories of goods. The discussions did not include a small group of high performance US made chips that require export licences, which he described as strategically important to America's lead in artificial intelligence.
The comments came after Trump welcomed Xi to the White House on Thursday. The meeting produced no immediate public breakthrough on several sensitive trade issues, but officials from both countries have continued negotiations aimed at managing tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Greer Says More Details Are Coming
Greer told CNBC that the United States and China were operating under what he described as a managed trade arrangement.
He said negotiators had made progress during discussions over the previous several weeks and that Washington would provide more information about the agreements on Monday.
The planned disclosure could offer greater clarity on the scope of the latest understandings between the two sides, particularly on which products will be protected from future tariff disputes or other trade measures.
Greer said the two countries had agreed to exclude certain goods from potential future trade disputes. The arrangement covers selected products that both sides consider suitable for continued trade even if disagreements arise in other areas.
Under the arrangement described by Greer, the United States would supply agricultural products and medical devices to China. In return, China would provide consumer goods and other products that the US considers non sensitive.
The purpose is to keep trade in those categories moving even if the two countries face new disputes or impose additional tariff measures in the future.
Selected Goods to Be Kept Outside Future Disputes
Greer said negotiators had reached agreements on a number of goods that would effectively be left outside future tariff or trade disputes.
The arrangement could provide businesses with greater certainty over specific categories of products, although the full list of covered goods has not yet been released.
For US exporters, agricultural products and medical devices are among the areas identified by Greer as part of the planned trade flows. On the Chinese side, the United States expects consumer goods and other non sensitive products.
The approach does not remove broader trade disagreements between Washington and Beijing. Instead, it establishes areas where the two sides have agreed to continue commercial exchanges even if disputes emerge elsewhere.
Greer's comments suggest that negotiators are attempting to separate ordinary commercial trade from more sensitive economic and technology issues.
That distinction is particularly important in the technology sector, where Washington has maintained restrictions on certain advanced products and technologies connected to national security concerns.
Advanced AI Chips Remain Outside Talks
The negotiations did not cover a small amount of high quality US made chips that require licences, according to Greer.
He said these advanced chips represent some of America's most important technology and are closely connected to the country's position in artificial intelligence.
Greer described them as the "crown jewels" of American technology and said discussions over those products were not part of the current negotiations.
The distinction points to the limits of the latest trade discussions. While Washington and Beijing have found areas where goods can continue moving between the two economies, advanced semiconductor technology remains a separate issue.
The United States has treated leading edge computing technology differently from ordinary consumer products because of its connection to advanced artificial intelligence systems and other high performance applications.
Greer's remarks indicate that the current negotiations are focused on managing trade in selected goods rather than resolving every disagreement between the two governments.
Trump and Xi Meet at the White House
The latest negotiations followed Trump's meeting with Xi at the White House on Thursday.
The two leaders discussed relations between their countries, but the meeting did not produce an immediate public breakthrough on several sensitive issues.
Their talks took place against the background of a broader effort by officials from Washington and Beijing to prevent their trade dispute from escalating again.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng earlier in the week as part of that effort.
Bessent said the two sides had agreed to extend until January 10 an arrangement that had paused a trade conflict in which mutual tariffs had reached more than 100 percent.
That earlier escalation placed significant pressure on trade between the two economies. The subsequent agreement to pause the tariff conflict created space for further negotiations and discussions between senior officials.
Trade Arrangement Keeps Talks Moving
The latest discussions appear to focus on maintaining trade in selected products while leaving more sensitive areas for separate negotiations.
Greer's comments suggest that Washington and Beijing have reached agreements in several categories without resolving the larger disputes that have shaped their economic relationship.
Agricultural products and medical devices are among the US goods covered by the arrangements described by Greer. Chinese consumer goods and other non sensitive products would also remain part of trade under the understanding.
The decision to separate these goods from future disputes could give companies involved in those sectors more certainty about their ability to continue trading.
However, the arrangement does not mean all trade tensions have been resolved. Advanced chips remain outside the current negotiations, and Greer made clear that discussions over those technologies are not taking place as part of the latest talks.
Monday Disclosure Could Clarify the Agreement
The US government is expected to provide additional details on Monday. Those details will be important for determining the precise scope of the agreements reached during the recent negotiations.
Until Washington publishes the information, the full list of products covered by the arrangements remains unclear.
Greer's comments establish several elements of the current understanding. The United States and China have reached agreements covering selected goods, Washington expects to export agricultural products and medical devices, and China will provide consumer goods and other products considered non sensitive.
The negotiations also leave advanced US made chips outside the discussion, reflecting the separate treatment given to technology considered important to artificial intelligence development.
The trade relationship between Washington and Beijing therefore remains divided into areas where officials have reached practical arrangements and areas where major disagreements continue.
The next significant development is expected Monday, when the United States releases more details about what negotiators achieved during the latest round of talks.
What new details could Monday's announcement reveal about the future of US China trade?