USDA’s World Ag Outlook Board expects US meat exports to take a hit the rest of this year due to President Trump’s tariffs and retaliation, mainly from China.
China earlier imposed 10-percent retaliatory tariffs on US pork and 15-percent on chicken…and after China went to 125-percent on most US goods, President Trump just upped tariffs on Chinese goods to a whopping 245-percent.
USDA World Ag Outlook Board Chair Mark Jekanowski says the tariff war is heating up—reflected in lower meat export forecasts.
“The change this month was largely reflecting reduced exports to China, because of both tariff and non-tariff barriers, including the fact that we’ve seen a lapse in plant registrations for exports to China,” he said. “It’s increased global competition in other markets. And that’s increased competition from the likes of Brazil and the EU, supplying pork into those markets.”
China also turned to Brazil this month for big purchases of soybeans, as it did during its trade war with the US during President Trump’s first term. That trade war ended with Trump’s Phase I deal, but China fell some 8 (B) billion dollars, or 21-percent, short of keeping its end of the bargain.
US Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer told senators recently China’s overall average tariff rate is 7-and-a-half percent.
“On ag products, it’s 14-percent. But we know that this does not capture the full extent of the non-trade barriers and regulatory hurdles that they impose on our exports,” Greet said while speaking to the Senate Finance Committee.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.