Unchartered territory entered with tariff wars

Reacting to President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on imports from China, in two separate hikes of 10% each, China retaliated with a list of tariffs on 740 United States agricultural products, including soybeans, Reuters reported.

China’s Ministry of Finance announced the tariffs March 4 on its website, saying, “The U.S. unilateral imposition of tariffs undermines the multilateral trading system, exacerbates the burden on U.S. enterprises and consumers, and undermines the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States.”

China will add 15% tariffs on U.S. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, which it groups in Annex 1. Annex 2 products will receive an added 10% tariff, including sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

Categories such as vegetables or aquatic products contained hundreds of individual items, ranging from frozen haddock fish to onions. In the case of pork or beef, tariffs covered frozen and fresh meat as well as offal.

Comparing the list of targeted items with U.S. Census data, Reuters estimated the tariffs could affect $21 billion worth of goods.

This comes on the heels of 25% tariffs set to go into effect with goods Canada and Mexico.

NCGA responds

In response to the tariffs imposed between the U.S. and its trading partners, Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. released the following statement:

“Farmers are facing a troubling economic landscape due to rising input costs and declining corn prices. We ask President Trump to quickly negotiate agreements with Mexico, Canada and China that will benefit American farmers while addressing issues important to the United States. We call on our trading partners to work with the president to resolve these issues so that that we can restore vital market access.”

David Murray can be reached at journal@hpj.com.