China will impose tariffs on a slew of US farm products as part of its countermeasures against Washington, threatening to disrupt a major portion of trade between the two agricultural powerhouses.
While the full list of measures from Beijing on Tuesday indicated some restraint, the breadth of farming targets was far-reaching, touching commodities from beef and poultry to grains. China also announced a complete suspension of soybean imports from three US entities and halted purchases of American logs.
The government warned earlier in the week, through the state-run Global Times, that agricultural products would be caught in trade crossfire. Its latest moves include additional 10% duties on imports of soybeans starting March 10. Sorghum, pork and beef will also incur new 10% tariffs, while 15% levies will be slapped on US chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, according to a statement.
The list includes some of America’s most valuable agricultural exports to China and comes just as many US farmers are preparing to plant crops for the next season.
China is the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, which are crushed into cooking oil and used to feed its vast herds of pigs. Chicago futures for the oilseed were down about 1.3% as of 5:33 a.m. local time, after touching the lowest in almost two months.
Corn and wheat also declined, while cotton futures in New York slumped more than 3% to the lowest since 2020.
“China will be able to reach a new supply-demand balance, by, for example, importing more soybeans from South America, or releasing supplies from the reserves,” said Hanver Li, chief analyst with Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. “China had been making preparations long ago. China is ready for this.”
Asia’s largest economy has sought to diversify crop suppliers since the last trade war with the US, cushioning the impact of trade salvos.
Agricultural markets were caught in the crosshairs of the US-China trade war during President Donald Trump’s first term, with Beijing imposing tariffs as high as 25% on American farm products including soybeans. On that occasion, however, it took the administration a year to get to that level of escalation.
American soybean shipments fell almost 80% during a two-year period. The tariffs were later disregarded as the two sides reached a trade deal, under which China pledged to buy more US agricultural products. Beijing has since taken steps to increase purchases from South America and elsewhere, and to boost domestic production. At this time of year, it is mostly buying from Brazil.
Cargoes shipped before March 10 and imported before April 12 won’t incur the additional tariffs, according to the Chinese government statement.
In Trump’s first term, the White House was forced to give farmers generous payouts as levies escalated and crop exports shrank, helping to maintain his support in rural areas.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said earlier this week — before China’s tariffs were announced — that American farmers would soon start receiving an initial tranche of $30 billion in funding approved by Congress to fight a market downturn.
“This doesn’t look like a full-scale trade war just yet, but it could be heading that way,” said Kang Wei Cheang, an agriculture broker at StoneX in Singapore. “China’s actions suggest they want to keep things from spiraling out of control, but the real question is whether the US is willing to negotiate. If no deal is reached, this could drag out into a much larger economic conflict.”
