China announced Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.
The tariffs announced by the Commerce Ministry are due to take effect from March 10, though goods already in transit will be exempt until April 12. They follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20 per cent across the board. Those took effect on Tuesday, along with 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.
Imports of U.S. grown chicken, wheat, corn and cotton will face an extra 15 per cent tariff, a notice by the ministry said. Tariffs on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafoods, fruit, vegetables and dairy products will be increased by 10%.
Also Tuesday, Beijing placed 10 more U.S. firms on its unreliable entity list, which would bar them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and from making new investments in the country. Some already likely face restrictions on trade with China if their products can be used for both military and civilian purposes.
The firms listed are TCOM,Limited Partnership; Stick Rudder Enterprises LLC; Teledyne Brown Engineering; Huntington Ingalls Industries; S3 AeroDefense; Cubic Corporation; TextOre; ACT1 Federal; Exovera and Planate Management Group.
Separately, China added 15 U.S. companies to its export control list, including aerospace and defense companies like General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others.
“China has decided to include 15 U.S. entities that endanger China’s national security and interests in the export control list, prohibiting the export of dual-use items to them,” the ministry said in a statement.
While the tariffs Beijing has imposed on American farm products are sweeping, China held back from imposing higher tariffs across the board, and “both sides showed restraint,” said Sun Chenghao, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
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“The U.S. hopes to get a trade deal with China in the end,” Sun said. “For the long term, it is possible that China and the U.S. will continue to negotiate, but the current atmosphere is not good.”
By raising tariffs, the U.S. has repaid kindness with enmity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
“I would like to reiterate that the Chinese people have never been afraid of evil, do not believe in ghosts, and have never been bullied,” Lin said.
China’s is a major importer of American farm products, though its purchases dipped after Trump launched a trade war during his first term in office, and then recovered. In 2024, China imported $24.7 billion in farm products from the U.S., 14% of its $176 billion in total farm exports. Mexico was the largest importer of U.S. farm goods, followed by Canada.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry included about two dozen U.S. farm exports subject to additional 15 per cent tariffs, including chicken feet and wings, and 711 items subject to an extra 10 per cent tariff.
In 2021-22, the United States logged record export values to China for soybeans, corn, beef, chicken meat, tree nuts, and sorghum. Cotton exports to China also rebounded, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. farm exports to China totaled $33.8 billion in fiscal 2023 and $36.4 billion in fiscal 2022.
China has been diversifying its sources for farm imports, buying more soybeans from Brazil and Argentina, among other growers.
Beijing is prepared to hit back, said Xu Botao, research director of the GoGlobal Institute at EqualOcean, a Shanghai-based Chinese think-tank “The Chinese government and Chinese companies will not be easily frightened and give up resisting unjust trade pressure from the U.S. and other countries,” Xu said.
The end result will depend on how the U.S. side approaches Beijing, analysts said.
“So far, the U.S. hasn’t sent a positive signal. If the U.S. wants to talk, it should not damage the atmosphere,” Sun said.
© 2025 The Canadian Press