China Hits Back With Extra 15% Tariffs On Imports Of Major US Farm Exports!

China Hits Back With Extra 15% Tariffs 

China said on Tuesday it will levy additional tariffs as high as 15% on imports of major U.S. farm goods, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and broadened controls on doing business with American firms.

The tariffs, which were announced by the Commerce Ministry, are to be effective from March 10. They came after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the raising of tariffs on Chinese imports to 20% across the board. Those became effective on Tuesday.

Imports of American-grown chicken, wheat, corn and cotton will be subjected to an additional 15% tariff, it added. The tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafoods, fruits, vegetables and dairy products will be raised by 10%.

Beijing also put 10 additional U.S. companies on its list of unreliable entities on Tuesday, which would exclude them from participating in China-related import or export business and from establishing new investments in the country.

The following firms are included: TCOM,Limited Partnership; Stick Rudder Enterprises LLC; Teledyne Brown Engineering; Huntington Ingalls Industries; S3 AeroDefense; Cubic Corporation; TextOre; ACT1 Federal; Exovera and Planate Management Group.

The inclusion of the 10 firms follows China in March adding two companies, fashion retailer PVH Group and biotech firm Illumina, to the list of unreliable entities.

In addition, China placed 15 American companies on its export control list, including defense and  aerospace firms such as General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others.

“China has decided to include 15 U.S. entities that endanger China’s national security and interests in the export control list, prohibiting the export of dual-use items to them,” the ministry said in a statement.

China’s is a major importer of American farm products, though its purchases dipped after Trump launched a trade war during his first term in office, and then recovered.

In 2021-22, the United States logged record export values to China for soybeans, corn, beef, chicken meat, tree nuts, and sorghum. Cotton exports to China also rebounded, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. farm exports to China totaled $33.8 billion in fiscal 2023 and $36.4 billion in fiscal 2022.

But China has been diversifying its sources for farm imports, buying more soybeans from Brazil and Argentina, among other growers.

The Commerce Ministry included about two dozen U.S. farm exports subject to additional 15% tariffs, including chicken feet and wings, and 711 items subject to an extra 10% tariff.