U.S. Asks China for Trade Concessions Specific to Ag

President Donald Trump asked China in a tweet Friday to lift all of its tariffs on American agricultural products, pointing to his decision to delay a second round of tariffs and to improving trade relations with China.

“I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.) based on the fact that we are moving along nicely with Trade discussions,” he tweeted, adding, “and I did not increase their second traunch of Tariffs to 25% on March 1st. This is very important for our great farmers—and me!”

Trump had announced the decision to delay the tariffs, as well as a planned summit to wrap up the trade agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, in a tweet Sunday. The tariffs had been set to go into effect Friday if no trade deal was reached.

China is the United States’ second largest agricultural market, according to data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. U.S. agricultural exports to China hit $20 billion in 2017, with soybeans accounting for $12 billion. 

In related news, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last week that U.S. trade negotiators asked China to reduce tariffs on U.S. ethanol. It was not immediately clear whether Beijing was willing to oblige. 

“They are engaged in conversation, they listen and hear us, but we are at this stage unable to determine the willingness factor,” Perdue said. 

Beijing last summer imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 70 percent on U.S. ethanol shipments, making exports to the key market uneconomical. 

“We would certainly love below 15 percent,” he said, referring to the tariff level. He did not say what the exact level U.S. negotiators were seeking. 

Perdue said last week that a number of agricultural issues were on the table in trade talks, including poultry access, issues over beef exports, feed grains, ethanol and an animal feed known as distillers grains. 

Sources: CNN and Reuters