Comment on China's imposition of tariffs on American agricultural products

On the noon of March 4, 2025, the Tariff Commission of the State Council announced the "Announcement on Imposing Additional Tariffs on Some Imported Goods Originating in the United States". On March 3, 2025, the US government announced an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods imported to the US, citing fentanyl as the reason. The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the United States damages the multilateral trading system, exacerbates the burden on American businesses and consumers, and undermines the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States.

According to the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China, the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and regulations, as well as the basic principles of international law, with the approval of the State Council, tariffs will be imposed on some imported goods originating in the United States from March 10, 2025. The relevant matters are as follows:

1、 An additional 15% tariff will be imposed on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton. Please refer to Annex 1 for the specific product scope.

2、 An additional 10% tariff will be imposed on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The specific scope of goods can be found in Annex 2.

3、 For imported goods listed in the attachment originating from the United States, corresponding tariffs will be imposed on top of the current applicable tariff rates. The current bonded and tax reduction policies remain unchanged, and the tariffs imposed this time will not be reduced.

4、 Goods that have been shipped from the place of origin before March 10, 2025 and imported between March 10, 2025 and April 12, 2025, will not be subject to the additional tariffs stipulated in this announcement.

1、 Soybeans:

Due to the announcement by the US government on March 3, 2025, an additional 10% tariff will be imposed on all Chinese goods imported to the US on the grounds of fentanyl. Starting from March 10, 2025, China will impose tariffs on some imported goods originating from the United States. Among them, soybeans are subject to a 10% tariff. The current applicable tariff rate for soybeans is 3%, and corresponding tariffs will be imposed on top of the current applicable tariff rate.

The current tariff increase is expected to have a negative impact on US soybean exports, putting pressure on CBOT soybeans. The CBOT soybean main contract 05 is showing a downward trend. The closing price on March 3rd was 1010.75 cents per bushel, and as of 3:30pm Beijing time on March 4th, 2025, the price was