China has just extended yet another olive brand to the United States in an attempt to cool down rising trade tensions between both nations. The country's finance ministry announced late last week that it would be waiving tariffs for a select number of imports from the United States, namely soybean and pork products.
The ministry issued a statement of Friday revealing its intention of exempting pork and soybean products from its recently imposed tariffs against the United States. Companies importing these types of products from the US would however still have to apply for exemptions with authorities.
The exemption of tariffs is the second time China has made such a move in order to alleviate some pressure off trade negotiations. The last time China excluded soybeans and product products from imposed tariffs was in September this year.
Negotiators from both countries have been trying to iron out an amicable trade deal for more than a year now, but both sides have yet to agree on the terms of an early-stage trade deal. China is currently under pressure to reach an agreement before December 15, which is the deadline set by Trump for a new round of tariffs on an expanded number of Chinese-made imports.
US soybean and pork exporters have been hit very hard by the ongoing trade tensions over the past year. As the dispute between two of the largest economies in the world enters its second year, numerous industries remain in the red as they struggle with the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by both nations against each other.
China is the US' largest market for its soybean products. Following the imposition of tariffs last year, US soybean exports to China dropped to $3.1 billion from $12.2 billion from the previous year.
Both soybean and pork products were included in the list of items to be levied by China in July of last year as part of the country's response to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on over $34 billion worth of Chinese goods.
China currently has a massive demand for pork imports due to the devastation on domestic production caused by its ongoing African swine fever epidemic. Pork producers in the US have stated that the tariffs are causing them to miss out on a large opportunity in the Chinese the market as they are unable to compete with importers from other countries that do not have to pay expensive levies.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced last week that it plans to import a total of 3 million tons of pork this year. This represents a 40 percent increase when compared to the amount of pork imported in the previous year.
