U.S. Farmers Get Tariff Reprieve from China

A Chinese state news agency says U.S. soybeans, pork and some other farm products will be exempt from tariff hikes in a possible goodwill gesture ahead of trade negotiations next month.

The official Xinhua News Agency announced the step Friday, citing unidentified official sources, but gave no details.

Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement Friday after China made the announcement:

“It’s good to see recent purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and this morning’s announcement that China will not be adding additional tariffs for U.S. imports of soybeans and pork. This is positive news for Nebraska’s farmers and producers. However, our producers still face significant trade uncertainties. I will continue to push for passage of USMCA, which will bring more opportunities to our state.”

Soybeans are the biggest U.S. export to China but purchases stopped after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in a fight over trade and technology. The two sides are preparing for talks in Washington but economists say they expect no final deal this year due to the scale of disagreements between the two sides.

Trump announced this week he would postpone a planned increase in tariffs on Chinese goods as a goodwill gesture ahead of the talks.

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