U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (C) gestures as he chats with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (R) as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) looks on after posing for a "family photo" at the Xijiao Conference Centre in Shanghai on July 31, 2019.

The U.S. will consider extending certain tariff exclusions on $34 billion of imports from China as the two nations work toward a trade agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Monday.

Nearly 1,000 products were exempted from the July 2018 tariff, and those exclusions are set to expire on Dec. 28.

The extension would give the companies importing those products leeway, while mitigating tensions between the global superpowers as they hash out the details of their agreement. In September, China said it plans to exclude American farm goods, including soybeans, from tariffs amid the trade talks.

The USTR said last week that China and the U.S. are close to finalizing a phase one deal. President Donald Trump has said the agreement will address intellectual property and financial services and include a pledge for China to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in American agricultural products.