President Trump threatens China with more tariffs

The taxes will start on Sept. 1, the president tweeted

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Nearly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods could face a 10 percent tariff as early as the beginning of next month, President Trump tweeted yesterday.

The import taxes would apply to products like iPhones, shoes and toys, CNN reported. Paired with the tariffs already in place, the new ones would essentially put levies on all Chinese goods the United States imports.

Part of the reason for the additional tariffs is China’s unwillingness to purchase enough U.S. ag commodities, Trump said.

...buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2019

China “agreed to buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so,” the president said in a series of tweets.

China, however, isn’t backing down.

Should the president follow through with its additional tariffs, the U.S. should expect similar retaliation.

“If America does pass these tariffs then China will have to take the necessary countermeasures to protect the country’s core and fundamental interests,” said Hua Chunying, a spokesperson with the Chinese foreign ministry, Reuters reported.

Commodity markets reacted to president’s comments.

“Grain markets were down at yesterday’s close but are back up again today to some degree,” Dan O’Brien, an associate professor of ag economics at Kansas State University, told Farms.com. “I think the initial response was disappointment, but we’re weighing the issue of ongoing negotiations versus final results.”

Farm organizations are unhappy with the threat of additional tariffs against China.

The longer the two nations are involved in the trade war, the more damage it does to the U.S. ag industry, said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union.

“Immediately after President Trump tweeted his tariff threats, already low commodity prices slipped yet again, but the long-term implications for our country’s reputation as a reliable trading partner are likely to be even more damaging,” he told Bloomberg.

Farms.com has reached out to the American Farm Bureau Federation for comment.