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Photo = Hanwha Ocean |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SEOUL / WASHINGTON, November 1, 2025 — Following the October 30 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is reportedly preparing to lift sanctions imposed on Hanwha Ocean’s U.S. subsidiaries, signaling a potential thaw in U.S.–China trade tensions.
According to a White House fact sheet released on November 1 (local time), China agreed to withdraw retaliatory measures against U.S. maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries that were introduced in response to the U.S. Trade Act Section 301 investigation. The decision includes lifting restrictions on shipping companies previously sanctioned by Beijing.
Earlier this month, China had blacklisted five Hanwha Ocean U.S. subsidiaries — Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Hanwha Shipping, Hanwha Ocean USA International, Hanwha Shipping Holdings, and HS USA Holdings — banning Chinese firms from doing business with them. The move came after these entities reportedly cooperated with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 probe into Chinese industrial subsidies and trade practices.
At the time, USTR representative Jamieson Greer criticized Beijing’s action as “economic coercion intended to block foreign investment in the U.S. shipbuilding industry.” However, with Washington agreeing to suspend its Section 301 investigation targeting China’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors, observers say Beijing is now likely to revoke its countermeasures.
The fact sheet detailed additional outcomes of the Trump–Xi meeting:
China will suspend its rare-earth export restrictions announced in early October and issue comprehensive export licenses for critical minerals including rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite.
On fentanyl, China pledged to block North American shipments of precursor chemicals and tighten export controls on related substances globally.
All retaliatory tariffs and non-tariff barriers imposed by China since March will be withdrawn. Beijing also committed to purchasing 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans by year-end and at least 25 million tons annually over the next three years.
On semiconductors, China will terminate all ongoing antitrust and anti-dumping investigations against U.S. chipmakers.
In return, the U.S. will cut its tariffs on Chinese goods by 10 percentage points starting November 10, maintaining the reduced rate until November 2026 through a series of high-level negotiations.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
