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China targets US agricultural products over Trump tariff threat - Media

03 March 2025 09:10 (UTC +04:00)

China has American agricultural exports in its cross hairs as it prepares countermeasures against fresh U.S. import tariffs, China's state-backed Global Times reported, raising the stakes in an escalating trade war between the world's top two economies, APA reports citing Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened China with the extra 10% duty set to take effect on Tuesday, resulting in a cumulative 20% tariff, and accused Beijing of not doing enough to halt the flow of fentanyl into America, which China said was tantamount to "blackmail."

"China is studying and formulating relevant countermeasures in response to the U.S. threat of imposing an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products under the pretext of fentanyl," Global Times reported on Monday, citing an anonymous source.

"The countermeasures will likely include both tariffs and a series of non-tariff measures, and U.S. agricultural and food products will most likely be listed," the report added.

China's commerce ministry and the U.S. embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. has long been vulnerable to China using its agricultural exports as a punching bag in times of trade tensions.

China remains the biggest market for U.S. agriculture products despite a decline in imports since 2018 after Beijing slapped tariffs of up to 25% on soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum in retaliation for duties on Chinese goods imposed by Trump.

The world's top agricultural importer and second-largest economy brought in $29.25 billion worth of U.S agriculture products in 2024, a 14% drop from a year earlier, extending a 20% decline seen in 2023.

Global Times, which is owned by the newspaper of the governing Communist Party, People's Daily, was first to report the steps China planned to take in response to the European Union slapping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year.

Trump's announcement left Beijing with less than a week to come up with countermeasures or strike a deal. The proposed extra levies also coincide with the start to China's annual meeting of parliament, a political set piece event at which Beijing is expected to roll out its 2025 economic priorities.