China recently revealed its plans to enforce increased tariffs of up to 15% on crucial American farm products, such as pork, soybeans, beef, and chicken. The Ministry of Commerce also announced tightened restrictions on conducting business with American companies. These tariffs, scheduled to come into effect on March 10, are a response to President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to 20% across all products, which were implemented on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Commerce specified that an additional 15% tariff will be imposed on American-grown chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports. Meanwhile, the tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products will be raised by 10%.
On the same day, China added 10 more American firms to its unreliable entity list, preventing them from engaging in import or export activities related to China and from making new investments in the country. The listed companies include 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.
This comes after China included two firms, PVH Group and Illumina, in the unreliable entities list last month. Additionally, China has added 15 American companies to its export control list, which comprises aerospace and defense companies like General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others. The Ministry of Commerce stated that these 15 entities pose a threat to China’s national security and interests, leading to a ban on the export of dual-use items to them.
China is a significant importer of American farm products, although its purchases declined following President Trump’s initiation of a trade war during his first term. However, the trade between the two countries recovered, and in the fiscal years 2021-22, the United States achieved 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. In fiscal year 2023, U.S. farm exports to China totaled $33.8 billion, while in fiscal year 2022, they reached $36.4 billion.
Nevertheless, China has been diversifying its sources for agricultural imports, increasing its soybean purchases from Brazil and Argentina, among other countries. The Ministry of Commerce listed approximately two dozen American farm exports that will be subject to an additional 15% tariff, including chicken feet and wings, and 711 items that will incur an extra 10% tariff.