Retailers, farmers speak out against ongoing trade war
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to additional tariffs. In accordance with the direction of President Trump, the additional tariffs went into effect starting Sept. 24, 2018, and initially will be in the amount of 10%.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to additional tariffs. In accordance with the direction of President Trump, the additional tariffs went into effect starting Sept. 24, 2018, and initially will be in the amount of 10%. Starting Jan. 1, 2019, the level of the additional tariffs will increase to 25%.
The list contains 5,745 full or partial lines of the original 6,031 tariff lines that were on a proposed list of Chinese imports announced on July 10, 2018. The new tariffs affect imports ranging from canned vegetables to wood furniture. Changes to the proposed list were made after USTR and the interagency Section 301 Committee sought and received comments over a six-week period and testimony during a six-day public hearing in August.
During the comment period the USTR received more than 6,000 letters, including a letter from Walmart’s senior director for global government affairs Sarah Thorn. She wrote this of the proposed tariffs on China: “The immediate impact will be to raise prices on consumers and tax American business and manufacturers.” Thorn also offered a partial list of items it carries that would be affected by tariffs including a “range of food products (fish, vegetables, nuts, fruit, grains, flours, other products like soy sauce); beverages.”
The American Soybean Association (ASA) released a statement saying that the decision “deepens and prolongs the trade war between the two countries, posing even more adverse consequences for American soybean farmers.” Davie Stephens, a soybean grower from Clinton, Ky., and ASA vice president stated, “If this trade war is not resolved soon, we will see irreversible consequences. Beyond very real concerns about a continued price drop for our beans, we’re talking about the viability of our long-term relationship with the China market. We need negotiations now rather than tit-for-tat responses that hurt both countries.”
Since June, the price of U.S. soybeans at export terminals in New Orleans has dropped 20%, from $10.89 to $8.68 per bushel. Farm-gate prices have fallen even further. During the same period, the premium paid for Brazilian soybeans has increased from virtually zero to $2.18 per bushel, or $80 per metric ton.