Trump urges China to remove tariffs on US agricultural products

Published March 2, 2019
“This is very important for our great farmers - and me!” Trump said on Twitter. — AFP/File
“This is very important for our great farmers - and me!” Trump said on Twitter. — AFP/File

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged China to abolish tariffs on agricultural products imported from the United States — adding that trade talks between the rival powers were going well.

“I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.),” the president wrote on Twitter.

He said his request was based on the fact that negotiations with China were “moving along nicely” — and his delay last week of a planned tariff increase on Chinese exports.

“This is very important for our great farmers - and me!” he added.

After months of trade war, the US and China agreed to a 90-day truce to work out their differences.

It was scheduled to end Friday, but Trump eventually lifted the ultimatum to increase tariffs, satisfied by progress made in several rounds of talks in Beijing and Washington.

Top White House economic official Larry Kudlow said on Thursday the two countries were on the brink of a “historic” trade agreement. A meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is also expected this month.

After the latest round of talks in February, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted that China had committed to buying “an additional” 10 million metric tons of soybeans as a “show of good faith.”

US farmers rely greatly on such trade with China: in 2017, around a third of US soybean production — worth $14 billion — was exported there, where it is used to feed pigs.

Those exports plummeted last summer, when China imposed tariffs on US soybeans and other agricultural products.

Previously, in a gesture of goodwill at the start of the countries' truce, China in December resumed soybean purchases.

But Chinese tariffs had already hit America's farming regions hard — areas where Trump has enjoyed plentiful support.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Pathways to peace
Updated 27 Apr, 2026

Pathways to peace

NEGOTIATIONS to hammer out the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement took nearly two years before a breakthrough was achieved....
Food-insecure nation
27 Apr, 2026

Food-insecure nation

A NEW UN-backed report has listed Pakistan among 10 countries where acute food insecurity is most concentrated. This...
Migration toll
27 Apr, 2026

Migration toll

THE world should not be deceived by a global migration count lower than the highest annual statistics on record —...
Immunity gap
Updated 26 Apr, 2026

Immunity gap

Pakistan’s Big Catch-Up campaign showed progress but also exposed the scale of gaps in routine immunisation.
Danger on repeat
26 Apr, 2026

Danger on repeat

DISASTERS have typically been framed as acts of nature. Of late, they look increasingly like tests of preparedness...
Loose lips
26 Apr, 2026

Loose lips

PAKISTANIS have by now gained something of an international reputation for their gallows humour, but it seems that...