The Glossary
22 terms of art
The vocabulary the file runs on — each term defined in plain English, linked to why it matters and where it appeared in the record.
Section 301
The 1974 Trade Act statute under which most U.S. China tariffs were imposed.
Entity List
Commerce's export blacklist; listing cuts a firm off from U.S. technology without a license.
IEEPA
The 1977 emergency-powers statute behind the 2025 "fentanyl" and reciprocal tariffs.
Reciprocal Tariff
The April 2025 framework imposing a 10% global baseline plus country-specific surcharges — 34% for China.
De Minimis
The $800 duty-free threshold for parcels — ended for Chinese goods in May 2025.
MFN / Normal Trade Relations
The baseline, non-discriminatory tariff treatment China has received since PNTR in 2001.
Phase One Agreement
The January 2020 deal: Chinese purchase commitments in exchange for partial tariff relief.
Rare Earths & Critical Minerals
China's counterweight to chip controls: export licensing over ~80% of key refining.
Section 232
The national-security statute behind the 2018 global steel and aluminum tariffs.
Foreign Direct Product Rule
The export-control doctrine making U.S. technology law global for chips bound for China.
Fentanyl Tariff
The IEEPA tariff justified by precursor-chemical flows — 10% in Feb 2025, 20% in March, 10% after Busan.
Goods Trade Deficit
The U.S. goods gap with China: $375B in 2017, $203B in 2025 — and no longer the story.
Transshipment & Origin
Rerouting goods through third countries to dilute tariff exposure — and the rules fighting it.
Tariff Exclusions
Product-specific carve-outs from Section 301 lists — granted, expired, and politically loaded.
Currency Manipulation
The Treasury label applied to China in August 2019 — for five months.
China's WTO Accession
December 11, 2001 — the hinge of the modern relationship.
PNTR
The 2000 law ending annual renewal of China's trade status — the accession bargain.
Board of Trade
The standing U.S.-China consultative mechanism agreed at Busan, activated September 2026.
Busan Agreement
October 30, 2025 — the one-year truce: fentanyl tariff halved, rare earths suspended.
Geneva Joint Statement
May 12, 2025 — the 90-day de-escalation that ended the 145% peak.
Kuala Lumpur Talks
The October 2025 working-level round that rescued the Busan meeting.
The Truce
November 10, 2025 → January 10, 2027: the clock the whole file now runs on.