What 84% China tariffs mean for the USpublished at 05:05 British Summer Time 10 April
Annabelle Liang
Business reporter, Singapore
On paper, tariffs stand to impact China more than the US.
Firms in China sold almost $440bn (£342.5bn) of goods to America last year. That is around three times what US firms sold to China, suggesting that higher levies will cause a bigger hit to Chinese businesses.
But the reality is far more complex, according to analysts.
The 84% Chinese levies will have an outsized impact on US agricultural companies, which count China as their largest export market, says Sarah Tan from the Moody’s Analytics research firm.
“US agriculture is on the front line of [China’s] volley,” she says.
“When this latest increase is combined with hikes of 10% on soybeans, fruit, dairy
products, pork and beef and 15% on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton in March,
US farmers will soon feel a noticeable decline in Chinese demand.”
American consumers will also bear the brunt of any price increases – as tariffs could make Chinese imports more expensive, says Alex Holmes from the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Tariff rates are so high between the two countries now it’s essentially an embargo for all but essential goods,” he adds.