China has hit back this week at Trump’s new tariffs with duties of its own, targeted at sensitive U.S. farm goods. The U.S.’s third-biggest Ag export market, China began imposing tariffs of up to 15 percent on corn, soybeans, wheat, beef, and chicken. U.S. farm exports to China totaled more than 36 billion dollars in 2022. Now, President Trump’s new 20 percent tariff on China has started a new trade war, and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is not backing down.
“I support him one hundred percent,” she said.
China has escalated its trade retaliation, this time targeting Canada. In response to U.S. tariff hikes, Beijing imposed tariffs on more than $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products. According to Reuters, the move is a direct response to levies Ottawa introduced in October 2024, opening a new front in the ongoing global trade war.
China’s commerce ministry announced that the new tariffs, set to take effect on March 20, will mirror Canada’s own measures. In October, Canada imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25 percent tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Now, Beijing is responding in kind.
The tariffs may also serve as a warning. The Trump administration has signaled a willingness to ease 25 percent duties on Canadian and Mexican goods—if both countries adopt the same additional 20 percent tariff the U.S. has imposed on Chinese imports.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour. She was recently named the 2024 Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and serves as a Council Member on the World Agriculture Forum. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley and now divides her time between California and North Dakota.