AgDaily.com reports:
BEIJING — China on Tuesday suspended the soybean import licenses of three U.S. firms and halted imports of U.S. lumber, stepping up retaliatory action after the United States imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
Earlier in the day, China also imposed import levies covering $21 billion worth of U.S. agricultural and food products including soybeans, wheat, meat, and cotton.
The three U.S companies affected by the license suspensions are farmer-owned cooperative CHS Inc, global grains exporter Louis Dreyfus Company Grains Merchandising LLC, and export grain terminal operator EGT (owned partially by Bunge), China’s customs department said in a statement.
Customs said it detected ergot and seed coating agent in imported U.S. soybeans while the suspension of U.S. lumber imports was due to the detection of small worms, aspergillus and other pests.
Beijing’s retaliatory measures were in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an extra 10 percent duty on China, effective Tuesday, resulting in a cumulative 20 percent tariff in response to what the White House considers Chinese inaction over drug flows.
About half of U.S. soybean exports are shipped to China, totaling nearly $12.8 billion in trade in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The suspension of U.S. lumber was a direct response to Trump’s move on March 1 to order a trade investigation on imported lumber. Trump had earlier told reporters that he was thinking about imposing a 25 percent tariff rate on lumber and forest products.
“The announcement of import restrictions on U.S lumber and soybeans linked with phytosanitary issues follows a long history of similar measures by Beijing,” said Even Pay, agriculture analyst at Trivium China.
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