China imposes up to 15% tariffs on US farm products in retaliatory measure

New York: China’s finance ministry on Tuesday announced it would impose additional tariffs of 10% to 15% on the imports of agricultural goods including soybeans, corn, dairy, and beef amid the country’s rising trade tensions with the US, according to Reuters.

China’s retaliation in terms of tariff hike comes after Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products taking effect earlier on Tuesday.

It is reported that China began reducing its reliance on US agricultural products since Trump’s first term in office.

China imported from the US $29.25 billion worth agricultural goods in 2024, a 14% drop, following a 20% decline in 2023.

In 2018 China clamped tariffs of up to 25% US farm products including soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn, and sorghum after Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.

Marking a decline in importing the US agricultural products, China began focusing on increasing its own food production alongside purchasing products from Brazil.

Despite the trade war, the US remains China’s largest agricultural supplier with American traders still seeing China as its major market while seeking alternative markets.

While soybeans tops the US exports to China shipping the product worth $12.8 billion in 2024, the Asian giant is increasingly turning to Brazil for cheaper supplies.

Following this change in supply, the US share of China’s soybean export has fallen from40% in 2016 to just 21% in 2024, according to reports based Chinese customs data.

In thick of the trade war, China’s imports of US cotton came down to $1.49 billion in 2024 from $1.57 billion the year before, marking a shift commercial relations.