The Chinese Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will impose additional tariffs of 10% to 15% on US agricultural products from March 10, reported Reuters. These goods range from soybeans and corn to dairy and beef. The move comes in response to the additional 10% tariff that US President Donald Trump announced on Chinese imports, on top of the 10% tariffs which were announced by the US earlier.
Rosa Wang, an analyst at the Shanghai-based agro-consultancy JCI, told Reuters that the short-term impact on the domestic market will likely be minimal.
Wang said that the reason behind this is because as of now, it’s the South American soybean season, while US soybeans are out of season. Secondly, China’s purchase of US soybeans has decreased, and the share of US soybeans in China’s total imports has fallen to 17%.
However, she also notes that the large number of products affected will make it more difficult for China to export aquatic products to the US. With the additional 10% tariff, the total tariff on tilapia exports to the US will rise to 45%, effectively making it nearly impossible for China to specifically export tilapia to the US.
China to impose tariffs on which US goods?
In response to Trump’s tariffs, China is set to impose additional 10% retaliatory tariffs on many US agricultural products, including soybeans, corn, beef, sorghum, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, reported Reuters. The Chinese finance ministry announced 15% tariffs on US goods including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton.
These high tariffs were imposed after the United States imposed tariffs not only on China but also on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, starting a possible trade war.
US President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20% starting Tuesday. He also added a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, two of the US’s biggest trading partners.