China is preparing countermeasures against the fresh US import tariffs that are set to take place on Tuesday, the state of the state-supported Global Times reported, with American agricultural exports that are likely to be targeted.
Donald Trump threatened last week of China with an additional 10% duty, resulting in a combined -with a 20% tariff, while accusing Beijing who was not done enough to stop the flow of fentanyl in America, something China said very important in “BLACKMAIL”.
“China is studying and developing associated countermeasures in response to the US threat to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products under the pretext of the fentanyl,” the Global Times reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source.
“Countermeasures are likely to include both tariffs and a series of non-tariff steps, and agricultural and food products are likely to be listed,” the report added.
The US has long been weak in China who targets agricultural exports during trade hours.
China remains the largest market for U.S. agricultural products despite a collapse of imports since 2018 when Beijing placed tariffs up to 25% in soya beans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum in revenge for Chinese goods duties that Trump imposed.
The world’s leading agricultural and second largest economy brought $ 29.25bn of US agricultural products in 2024, a 14% collapse from a year before.
The Global Times, owned by the newspaper of the governing communist Party, the People’s Daily, first reported the steps that China planned to respond to the European Union imposing tariffs on China’s electric vehicles last year.
Trump’s announcement left Beijing with less than a week to produce countermeasures or strike a deal. The proposed additional levies also coincide with the start of China’s annual Parliament meeting, a political set-piece event in which Beijing is expected to release 2025 economic priorities.
Analysts said Beijing is still hoping to organize a Truce with the Trump administration, but there are no signs of any trading talks yet the expectation of a rapprochement has faded.
“A China-US trade war is inevitable, but Trump’s decision to impose tariffs is now a bad decision,” said Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understment at Peking University.
“Trump and his advisers may think that the imposition of tariffs at this time is to put pressure on China, send a signal, but it will backfire and China will inevitably respond strongly.”
