Agriculture Tariffs4 Apr 2025 14:30
China imposes sweeping 34% tariffs on all U.S. importsBlocks U.S. agricultural exports, with soybean trade hardest hitBrazil emerges as clear winner
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, April 4 (Reuters) - China's retaliation on Friday against new U.S. tariffs is poised to accelerate Beijing's move towards alternative suppliers for agriculture goods including Brazil, a shift that began during the trade war of President Donald Trump's first term.
Beijing unveiled a slew of countermeasures, including additional duties of 34% on all U.S. goods, which are on top of the 10-15% tariffs placed on roughly $21 billion worth of agricultural trade in early March.
It is like shutting down all U.S. agricultural imports. We are not sure if any imports will be viable with 34% duty," said a Singapore-based trader at an international trading company which sells grains and oilseeds to China.
"The main impact will be on products like soybeans and sorghum. It is not going to be so much on wheat and corn as China has not been buying much of wheat and corn from the U.S. this year anyway," the trader added.
A European grains trader said that the European Union, which has also vowed to retaliate, was also likely to put tariffs on U.S. soybeans.
"It's all about soybeans. A major concern is if there is no agreement before the new crop for U.S. soy," the trader said.
The March levies have accelerated a pivot away from U.S. soybean imports and shifted demand to Brazil, where a bumper harvest puts it on track to deliver a record-breaking second-quarter import surge for China.
"Brazil will be by far the main beneficiary, the biggest supplier that can replace U.S. soybeans to China. But others could benefit too, including Argentina and Paraguay. On wheat Australia and Argentina should benefit," said Carlos Mera, head of Agricultural Market Reasearch at Rabobank.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-retaliation-us-farm-goods-hits-soybeans-bolstering-brazil-2025-04-04/