China Imposes 10-15% Retaliatory Tariffs on US Agricultural Products... Precision Strike on 'Trump's Electoral Base'

China and Canada Pull Out Countermeasures

Additional Tariffs from 10th Targeting Iowa and Others

10 Defense Companies Added to Trade Control List

Canada Imposes Tariffs on 155 Trillion Won Worth of US Products

China and Canada have immediately pulled out retaliatory cards in response to US tariff impositions. China has decided to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% on US agricultural and livestock products and restrict exports from certain companies. Canada has decided to impose a 25% retaliatory tariff on US products worth 155 billion Canadian dollars (approximately 155 trillion won).

The Customs Tariff Commission of China's State Council announced on the 4th that it will impose an additional 15% tariff on US chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and an additional 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The additional tariffs will be imposed from the 10th, excluding goods shipped before then and imported into China by the 12th of next month.

Along with the tariff imposition, China also pulled out retaliatory measures targeting US companies. It designated 10 US defense contractors, including TCOM and Textore, as "unreliable entities," restricting their exports, imports, and new investments with China. It also announced that it would ban the export of critical minerals and dual-use materials that could be used for both civilian and military purposes to 15 US defense companies, including Leidos and Gibbs & Cox. Illumina, the world's largest genomic analysis company, was also included in the export restriction list.

China also immediately took retaliatory measures when the US first imposed an additional 10% tariff on February 4. At that time, US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products, citing China's inadequate response to fentanyl (drug) issues. In response, China imposed additional tariffs of 15% on US coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large vehicles, and pickup trucks.

As a result, the US-China tariff war appears to be continuing to escalate. In particular, since soybeans and beef are major items that the US exports to China, there are observations that China's tariff measures will directly impact the US economy. Agricultural regions are mainly in Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and other states where President Trump has strong support. For this reason, there are interpretations that China aimed for a political blow to President Trump when determining tariff items.

Canada also announced retaliatory measures today. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on the 3rd (local time), "We will not stand by and watch the US's unjust decision." From the 4th, tariffs will be imposed on US imports worth 30 billion Canadian dollars, followed by additional retaliatory tariffs on US products worth 125 billion Canadian dollars within 21 days.

Mexico has not yet taken direct retaliatory measures. There seems to be restraint from a 'tit-for-tat' response. However, since President Claudia Sheinbaum has been saying, "We are preparing various measures from Plan A to D," the possibility of imposing retaliatory tariffs soon cannot be ruled out.

Reporter Lee Hye-in hey@hankyung.com