The Chinese government has decided to retroactively lift tariffs that were imposed on linear accelerators as part of the trade war between that country and the U.S., according to a statement by radiation oncology firm Varian Medical Systems.
Medical products such as CT scanners and linear accelerators were caught up in the trade war when a list of products to which additional tariffs would apply was released in August 2018. The tariff list has since expanded to other products, and negotiations between the U.S. and China have failed to break the impasse.
In a September 12 announcement, Varian stated it received a notice from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council of China that linear accelerators would be exempted from tariffs starting September 17, and the company would be eligible for a refund for additional tariffs it has paid.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
