Responding to US president’s tariffs on steel and aluminium, China targets 120 US products including a 25% tariff on frozen pork

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

China has implemented retaliatory tariffs of up to 25% on $3bn in food imports from the US, raising uncertainty over the possibility of a trade war between the two countries.

China’s ministry of commerce said it would be “suspending tariff concessions” on 120 US food products. Fresh and dried fruits, almonds, pistachios and wine would be subject to an additional 15% tariff. Eight other items, including frozen pork, would be subject to a 25% tariff. The tariffs would begin on Monday, the ministry said.

The tariffs were in line with a list of potential duties on $3bn worth of US products released two weeks ago in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium. The US president has also promised to levy 25% on $60bn in annual imports from China.



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The ministry said “a large number of people expressed their support” for the measures in order to “safeguard the interests of the country and its industry”.

It added that China and the US should resolve issues through negotiation and dialogue. “As the world’s two largest economies, cooperation is the only correct option.”

Analysts say the fact that China’s tariffs do not cover some of the US’s biggest exports to China, such as soybeans, is a sign Beijing wants to avoid an all-out trade war.

“The amount subject to tariff is not big, which shows China is willing to ease the intensity of the trade conflict that was started by the US. Trump gave us a heavy shot, and China is giving a light shot back,” said Shi Yinhong, director of the US research centre at Renmin University in Beijing.

China’s economic czar Liu He spoke with US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin last week over the phone. Mnuchin is reportedly considering a trip to China over to continue talks.

Still, some in China are calling for stronger retaliatory measures on soybeans and other agricultural products as well as big-ticket US goods such as Boeing aircraft. China, the third largest consumer of US pork, bought $1.1bn in pork products from the US last year, according to the US Meat Export Federation.

The state-owned Xinhua news on Monday called Trump’s tariffs, a “self-defeating gamble.” The editorial, published in English, said, “The threatening tariffs, if realized, may hurt China. Yet the damage will be done at the expense of enormous American interests.”



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US senator Elizabeth Warren said on a three-day visit to China that US policy towards China up to now has been “misdirected” and she was not afraid of tariffs.

“We told ourselves a happy face story that never fit with the facts. Now US policymakers are starting to look more aggressively at pushing China to open up the markets without demanding a hostage price of access to US technology,” she said on Sunday in Beijing.

With US-China ties at a low, analysts say the countries are likely to keep struggling over trade.

“Even if this conflict can be eased, it won’t last long. There will be rounds after rounds of trade wars in the future,” said Shi.



Additional reporting by Wang Xueying