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Greg Lovins checks the quality of a load of soybeans
- China responded to President Donald Trump's tariffs with trade restrictions of their own on Friday.
- The Chinese tariffs will apply to $34 billion worth of US exports to China.
- The list of goods hit by the tariffs includes soybeans, pork, fish, orange juice, and whiskey.
- Here's a rundown of the major products.
The trade war between the US and China officially launched on Friday, as both countries imposed back-and-forth tariffs.
In response to President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, China's Ministry of Commerce announced tariffs of equal size on certain US exports to China.
The first $34 billion will be followed up by another $16 billion once the US's second tranche goes into effect in a few weeks.
While Trump's tariffs are mostly focused on industrial and tech goods, China is focusing heavily on agricultural products from the US. Not only will this focus direct pain on Trump's own political supporters, but the focus on perishable goods also leaves US farmers with fewer options to divert their crops.
For instance, a US cherry producer told the Washington Post that a shipment to China was diverted for further inspection and went bad. This forced the shipment to turn back and resulted in a loss for the US firm. While its unclear whether the delay was due to the trade fight, it highlights the danger for farmers caused by increased protectionism.
China released a preliminary list of goods that could face tariffs earlier in June. While its unclear if the final list is exactly the same, the speed with which China struck back suggests few changes were made. Here's a rundown of the major categories of US goods that will be hit by the tariffs:
- Meat: pork, beef, chicken, duck, and various smoked meats
- Fish: various types of salmon, trout, catfish, carp, tilapia, halibut, plaice, sole, albacore, tuna, herring, cod, haddock, hake, pollock, dogfish, rays, skates, sea bass, fish roe. Also includes frozen fillets of those fish.
- Other seafood: lobster, rock lobster, crab, shrimp, prawns, oyster, scallop, mussel, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, snail, clam, abalone, conch, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, jelly fish, and various aquatic invertebrates. Also includes prepared or preserved preparations.
- Dairy: milk and cream of various fat contents, sweetened milk and cream, yogurt, buttermilk, whey, butter, dairy spreads, and various types of cheese.
- Vegetables and other produce: potato, tomato, onion, shallot, garlic, peas, celery, pumpkins, mushrooms, truffles, chickpeas, various types of beans, lentils.
- Nuts: coconut, cashew, almond, hazelnut, walnut, pistachio, and macadamia
- Fruits: figs, oranges, mandarins including tangerine, grapefruit, lemons, limes, grapes, apple, pear, quinces, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, cranberries, blueberries, various types of berries. Also includes dried varieties of apricots, prunes, apples, and others. Fresh and frozen orange juice.
- Grains and grain derivatives: Wheat, corn, rice, sorghum, corn flour, cereal flour, soybeans, and cotton linters.
- Alcohol: Ethyl alcohol spirits, whiskeys, brewing/distilling dregs.
- Dog and cat food
- Tobacco products: raw tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, water pipe tobacco.
- Cotton
- Vehicles: certain types of electric cars, hybrid cars, small engine vehicles, and gear boxes for moto vehicles.