U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects to lower fentanyl-linked tariffs on China ahead of a much-anticipated meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.

The president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that the fentanyl flows into the U.S. and “farmers” will be among the topics he expects to discuss with Xi on Thursday.

When asked whether the potential one-year pause in Beijing’s implementation of rare earth export controls would be enough to draw more concessions from the U.S., Trump said, “We haven’t talked about the timing yet but we are gonna work out something.”

These comments came after the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the U.S. could cut the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese exports by half, in return for Beijing’s crackdown on the export of chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Trump called relations with China “very good,” adding, “We are going to have a great meeting with China’s Xi.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/29/trump-says-he-expects-to-lower-fentanyl-related-tariffs-on-beijing-discuss-farmers-with-chinaxi.html