Re:China Once Looked Tough on Trade. Now Its Options Are Dwi...
by makomk on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @01:16PM
(#18017155)
Based on the figures I could find, China imported $130 billion dollars worth of goods from America last year, of which $12.3 billion was soya beans. The most likely reason they imposed high tariffs on soya beans is precisely because they had so few actual options. (I know the media portrayed it as some kind of genius move at the time, but that's been looking increasingly dubious. It's not clear that they will be able to feed their livestock at reasonable prices.)
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Re:China Once Looked Tough on Trade. Now Its Options Are Dwi...
by bluGill on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @01:53PM
(#18017552)
To a large extent the tariffs were imposed just before China traditionally started importing from Brazil, so for several months they had little effect on actual supply (a few ships did get turned away, but for the US it was slow season). Brazil has ended their shipments, and China is turning to other countries which are selling at inflated prices and then buying from the US.
Don't paint the above as good for the US - things are bad for farmers, they are selling below what the cost would have been. I'm pointing out that the picture is (as always) complex.
Re:China Once Looked Tough on Trade. Now Its Options Are Dwi...
by 394549 on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @02:51PM
(#18018050)
Also, soybeans are a fungible commodity. As China buys up non-American soybeans, American exports will (with effort) be redirected to the customers who were originally planning to buy non-American soybeans that the China bought. The tariffs will be more of a hiccup for American farmers.
On the other hand, most of China's exports aren't fungible commodities, so it will have more difficulty finding substitutes for the reduced demand caused by American tariffs.