China to Tariff U.S. Food Commodities

China has reportedly imposed tariffs on imports of U.S.-made agricultural products, including pork, soybeans, wheat, beef, orange juice, whiskey and corn, following the United States’ imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel and other products. Several agriculture advocacy groups have expressed serious concerns about the projected effects of the tariffs. Max Baucus, former U.S. senator for Montana and chair of Farmers for Free Trade, reportedly told the New York Times, “American farmers appear to be the first casualties of an escalating trade war . . . [w]ith farm incomes already declining, farmers rely on export markets to stay above water.”

“We regret that the administration has been unable to counter China’s policies on intellectual property and information technology in a way that does not require the use of tariffs,” an April 4, 2018, press release from the American Soybean Association stated. “We still have not heard a response from the administration to our March 12 letter requesting to meet with President Trump and discuss how the administration can work with soybean farmers and others in agriculture to find ways to reduce our trade deficit by increasing competitiveness rather than erecting barriers to foreign markets.”