China begins imposing tariffs today in response to Trump's tariffs

Imposing additional tariffs on a group of American agricultural products

China will begin, starting Monday, imposing additional tariffs on a group of American agricultural products, in response to US President Donald Trump's decision to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports this week.

Since returning to the White House in January, the US president has announced the imposition of tariffs on his main trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico, considering that their cooperation in combating irregular immigration and drugs, especially fentanyl, is insufficient.

China is the country with the largest trade surplus with the United States, according to Agence France-Presse. After imposing a 10% tariff on all imported Chinese goods, Trump decided on March 3 to increase it to 20%.

China immediately expressed its "deep dissatisfaction" and announced the imposition of similar tariffs on American agricultural products starting Monday. The tariffs are 15% on American products such as chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, and 10% on other goods such as white corn, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

Experts believe that this Chinese response targets the electoral base of Republican President Trump, but it remains moderate, leaving the door open to the possibility of concluding a trade agreement. These trade tensions between China and the United States add to the economic difficulties facing China, including slowing consumption, a crisis in the real estate sector, and high unemployment rates among young people.

Headwinds

The US tariffs are expected to deal a heavy blow to Chinese exports, which contributed significantly to the growth of the Chinese economy last year. Experts believe that the consequences of the US measures may not appear immediately, but Chinese exports have already slowed in January and February to 2.3% year-on-year, compared to 10.7% in December.

“As exports face the risk of a downturn due to the looming trade war, fiscal policy should become more proactive,” said Qiu Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

Trade showdown and political conference

As the trade standoff between Beijing and Washington continues, China is currently hosting the “Two Sessions,” the year’s main political event, which brings together thousands of lawmakers from across the country in the capital.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang unveiled the government’s economic strategy for 2025 in a speech to the National People’s Congress on Wednesday, citing an “increasingly complex external environment.” Li set an annual growth target of “around 5%,” similar to the 2024 rate. But many economists say that target seems ambitious given China’s economic difficulties.

“If fiscal spending starts to pick up again soon, it could offset the short-term impact of tariffs on growth,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. “However, given the headwinds… we are not yet convinced that the financial support will be sufficient to provide more than a short-term boost,” he added.