3/1/2019

AGRICULTURE/CHINA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said he had asked China to immediately remove all tariffs on U.S. agricultural products because trade talks were progressing well. He also delayed plans to impose 25-percent tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday [3-1-19], as previously scheduled…Farmers are a key constituency for Trump’s Republican Party, and the U.S. president’s trade war with China has had a heavy impact on them. Beijing imposed tariffs last year on imports of soybeans, grain sorghum, pork and other items, slashing shipments of American farm products to China. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said this week that U.S. trade negotiators had asked China to reduce tariffs on U.S. ethanol, but it was not immediately clear whether Beijing was willing to oblige. Trump’s post on Twitter came several hours after the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said that it would delay the scheduled hike in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.”

Reuters Staff, “Trump Asks China to Lift Tariffs on U.S. Farm Products,” The New York Times online, March 1, 2019