The Ministry of Commerce has announced that tariffs will be applied as of March 10, although the products that are already en route will remain exempt until April 12.
Imports of chicken, wheat, corn and cotton cultivated in the United States will face an additional 15%tariff, the Chinese ministry said. Tariffs on sorghum, soy, pig, beef, shellfish, fruits, vegetables and dairy products will increase by 10%.
Also on Tuesday, Beijing added 10 more US companies to their list of non -reliable entities, which could prevent them from participating in import or export activities related to China, as well as making new investments in the country. Some could already face commercial restrictions with China if their products can be used for both military and civil purposes.
In addition, Beijing added 15 United States companies to its export control list, including defense and aerospace companies such as General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others.
Although the tariffs decreed by Beijing for American agricultural products are considerable, China refrained from imposing higher taxes in general and “both parties showed moderation,” said Sun Chenghao, professor of international relations at the University of Tsinghua de Beijing.
“The United States hopes to achieve a commercial agreement with China at the end,” he added. “In the long term, it is possible that China and the United States continue to negotiate, but the current atmosphere is not good.”
By increasing tariffs, Washington has paid the kindness with enmity, said the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian.
“I would like to reiterate that the Chinese people have never been afraid of evil, they do not believe in ghosts and have never been intimidated,” Lin said.
China is an important importer of American agricultural products, but its purchases decreased after the commercial war initiated by Trump in its first mandate, although they later recovered. In 2024, China imported US agricultural products worth 24,700 million dollars, 14% of its 176,000 million in agricultural exports. Mexico was the largest importer of American agricultural products, followed by Canada.
The Ministry of Commerce included around two dozen US agricultural exports to additional 15%tariffs, including chicken legs and wings, and another 711 articles will have an additional tax of 10%.
In 2021 and 2022, the United States registered export records to China of soybeans, corn, beef, chicken, nuts and sorghum. Cotton exports to the Asian giant also recovered, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Agricultural exports to China reached 33,800 million dollars in the fiscal year of 2023 and 36.4 billion in 2022.
But China has been diversifying its sources of agricultural imports, acquiring more soy in Brazil and Argentina, among other producers.
Beijing is clearly prepared to counterattack, said Xu Botao, research director of the Goglobal Institute in Equalocean, a Shanghai Chinese -based Chinese Study Center. “The Chinese government and Chinese companies will not easily be scared or renounce to resist the unjust commercial pressure of the United States and other countries.”
The final result will depend on how the White House approaches China, according to analysts.
“Until now, the United States has not sent a positive signal. If the United States wants to speak, it should not deteriorate the environment, ”said Sun.
