Overnight Markets and News
China early Wednesday very quickly announced the list of 106 u.s. products worth about $50 billion that will be subject to an additional 25% tariff in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. The list of U.S. products subject to the new tariff includes soybeans, automobiles, chemicals, and aircraft. Other U.S. ag products subject to the tariff include wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, tobacco, and beef. The U.S. sold about $14 billion worth of soybeans to China last year accounting for about one-third of the entire U.S. soybean crop.
China said the implementation date for the tariffs will depend on when the U.S. levies its tariffs. The U.S. process is that there will be about a 60-day public comment period and then the U.S. Trade Representative has up to 6 months to decide on the final tariffs. Written public comments can be submitted until May 11 and a public hearing has been scheduled for May 15. That means there is still time for the two sides to negotiate to see if there is a compromise that could avert the tariffs.
