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Could U.S.-China 'Busan Deal' lead to lifting of sanctions on Hanwha Ocean subsidiaries?

Published: 02 Nov. 2025, 16:59 Updated: 02 Nov. 2025, 17:26

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan on Oct. 30. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

WASHINGTON — A fact sheet detailing the so-called “Busan Deal” between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was released on Saturday, just two days after the two leaders held a summit in Korea's port city of Busan. Of particular note is a provision in which China agrees to lift retaliatory measures against U.S. shipping companies, raising expectations that sanctions imposed on the U.S. subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean may be lifted.

According to the “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Strikes Deal on Economic and Trade Relations with China” post released by the White House, China will revoke its retaliatory actions implemented in response to a Section 301 investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into China’s maritime logistics and shipbuilding sectors. The document states that China will cancel the sanctions it had imposed on various shipping companies.

On Oct. 14, China’s Ministry of Commerce added five U.S.-based subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean — Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Hanwha Shipping, Hanwha Ocean USA International, Hanwha Shipping Holdings and HS USA Holdings — to its sanctions list for cooperating with the USTR investigation. The sanctions barred these entities from conducting transactions with Chinese companies.

A landmark summit at a critical time

The U.S. launched the Section 301 investigation earlier this year to determine whether China was implementing unfair policies to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding markets. In response, the Chinese government targeted U.S.-related firms in these industries with retaliatory sanctions.

Jamieson Greer, a USTR official, had criticized the move as "part of a broader pattern of economic coercion to influence American politics and control global supply chains by discouraging foreign companies from investing in America’s shipbuilding and other critical industries."

However, with China agreeing to lift those measures, it is increasingly likely that the sanctions on Hanwha Ocean’s subsidiaries in the United States will also be removed. In return, the United States will suspend enforcement of its own retaliatory measures — based on the same Section 301 investigation — against China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for one year starting Nov. 10.

“The United States will negotiate with China pursuant to Section 301 while continuing its historic cooperation with the Republic of Korea and Japan on revitalizing American shipbuilding,” the White House said in the fact sheet.

The ″Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Strikes Deal on Economic and Trade Relations with China″ posted by the White House on Nov. 1 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Rare earths and soybeans also mentioned

The document also outlines other trade agreements reached during the Busan summit.

China has agreed to halt its globally announced restrictions on rare earth exports, which were introduced on Oct. 9. It also committed to blocking shipments of certain chemicals to North America and tightening export controls on others to stem the flow of synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.

China will also purchase at least 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans between this month and December, and from 2026 to 2028, commit to annual purchases of at least 25 million tons. The agreement includes provisions to facilitate global exports of Nexperia semiconductors produced in China and to extend procedures for tariff exemptions on certain U.S. goods through the end of December next year.

U.S. delays sanctions on Chinese export control subsidiaries

As part of its commitments, the United States will lower the so-called “fentanyl tariff” by 10 percentage points starting Nov. 10, and extend certain tariff exemptions under Section 301 until Nov. 10 next year for items currently set to expire on Nov. 29.

Additionally, the United States will delay for one year new export controls targeting subsidiaries of Chinese companies already designated on the export control list. On Sept. 29, the Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would expand restrictions to include affiliates of Chinese firms already on the list. China had strongly protested this move and responded by announcing a complete suspension of rare earth exports.

Highlighting President Trump’s recent trip across Malaysia, Japan and Korea, the White House noted that in Korea, “the President secured billions in landmark commitments, including investments to support American jobs, further America’s energy dominance, promote American leadership in the technology revolution and build the U.S.-Korea maritime partnership.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM HYOUNG-GU [[email protected]]