China Targets US Farm Products Over Trump Tariff Threats
China is preparing retaliatory measures against new US import tariffs set to take effect on Tuesday, the Chinese state-backed Global Times reported, with American agricultural exports likely to be targeted by Beijing.
US President Donald Trump last week threatened China with an additional 10% tariff, resulting in a cumulative tariff of 20%, while accusing Beijing of not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, which China said amounted to “blackmail.”
“China is studying and formulating relevant countermeasures in response to the US threat to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods under the pretext of fentanyl,” the Global Times reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.
“The countermeasures are likely to include tariffs and a series of non-tariff measures, and US agricultural and food products are likely to be included,” the report added.
The US has long been vulnerable to China using its agricultural exports as a punching bag during times of trade tensions.
China remains the largest market for U.S. farm products despite a decline in imports since 2018 after Beijing imposed tariffs of up to 25% on soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.
The world’s largest agricultural importer and second-largest economy is expected to bring in $29.25 billion worth of U.S. farm products in 2024, down 14% from the previous year, extending a 20% decline seen in 2023.
The Global Times, owned by the ruling Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily, was the first to report China’s planned steps in response to the European Union imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year.
Trump’s announcement gives Beijing less than a week to retaliate or reach a deal. The proposed additional levies also coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meeting, a political event that will see Beijing announce its economic priorities for 2025.
Analysts say Beijing is still hoping to negotiate a truce with the Trump administration, but with no sign of any trade talks, prospects for a rapprochement between the two economic giants are fading.
“A Sino-U.S. trade war is not inevitable, but Trump’s decision to impose tariffs now is a bad one,” said Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University.
“Trump and his advisers may think that imposing tariffs now is to put pressure on China, to send a signal, but it will backfire and China will definitely respond strongly.”
Source: Investing.com
