China has announced it will impose an extra 5% tariff on U.S. soybeans starting Sept. 1 and an additional 10% duties on other major U.S. crops also grown by many soybean farmers starting mid-December. These latest details come after China vowed earlier this week that it will retaliate if the U.S. goes through with its plan to broaden tariffs on Chinese goods Sept 1.
Davie Stephens, president of the American Soybean Association (ASA), spoke on behalf of the association, saying, “ASA has strongly requested an end to the tariffs on U.S. beans for more than a year. This escalation will affect us not because of the increasing tariff on our sales, which have been at a virtual standstill for months, but through time. The longevity of this situation means worsening circumstances for soy growers who still have unsold product from this past season and new crops in the ground this season – with prospects narrowing even more now for sales with China, a market soy growers have valued, nurtured, and respected for many years.”
ASA would like to see both parties - China and the United States- step up, stop tariffs, and find resolution that does not target soy growers trapped in the middle. Real people—Chinese citizens, the American public, and our soybean farmers—are the ones feeling the effects of this trade war.
Source: ASA