Tariff Tango Takes Two

Trade, but make it spicy.

Tariffs, tariffs everywhere: China and the U.S. are going tit for tat on tariffs, and it’s getting dicey. China, which we export several ag commodities to, is hiking tariffs on U.S. products by up to 81%.

You hang up. No, you hang up: The slapback includes, but is not limited to:

•   U.S. pork exports: 81% tariff (China accounts for 54% of U.S. pork variety meat shipments)

•   U.S. beef exports: 56% tariff

•    U.S. soybean exports: 44% tariff (the U.S. exports nearly half of its soybean production to China)

•   U.S. sorghum exports: 44% tariff

•   U.S. wheat exports: 49% tariff

•   U.S. corn exports: 49% tariff

•   U.S. dairy exports: 44% tariff

Retaliation station: These are retaliatory tariffs after President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. from China. The tariffs he’s imposed on China have now reached 125%. China says they’ll “fight to the end.” Fisticuffs are out.

War. What is it good for? A whopping 92% of economists think we’re already in a trade war. Seems pretty obvious. And who wins the war? Not the U.S. The majority of economists—73% in fact—say Brazil, one of the U.S.’s biggest competitors, wins. Then China comes in second place.

Don’t look at your 401(k): This doesn’t only impact the ag industry. The tariff-on-tariff actions have caused a stir in the markets—wiping trillions of dollars in stock market value before an equally dramatic bounceback on Wednesday.