• The same day that China and the United States imposed new tariffs on each other’s products, including food items, the Soybean Association issued a statement warning about the long-term effects of the trade war. Noting that U.S. soybean producers have spent more than 40 years and millions of dollars building the China market for soy and livestock products, the association pointed out that China has already “pursued new means to procure soybeans and other protein crops, including maximizing soybean imports from other exporting countries, particularly Brazil.”
  • The Trump administration imposed new tariffs of 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, including halibut, salmon, and fresh and frozen fruits, effective September 24. That amount will rise to 25% at the beginning of 2019. China responded with tariffs of 5 to 10% on $60 billion of U.S. products, including frozen vegetables.
  • By way of background, President Trump announced in June that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports to address China’s violation of American intellectual-property rights. China responded by imposing 25% tariffs on $34 billion worth of U.S. goods, including various agricultural items (e.g., seafood and pork varieties, soybeans, etc.). As we reported on this blog, the agriculture industry expressed concern at that time about the effects of the tariffs. A few months later in August, UDSA announced details of a $12 billion aid package for U.S. agriculture. While the agriculture industry generally appreciated the help, there was still concern about the effect of the trade dispute. The National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl stated in a press release, “While we’re grateful and commend the administration for its action to help us, what pork producers really want is to export more pork, and that means ending these trade disputes soon.”
  • It doesn’t appear that the tariff dispute between the U.S. and China will be resolved anytime soon. We will continue to report on this issue and how it impacts American agriculture and the food industry.