China NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 China Sat, 08 May 2021 09:38:58 +0000 https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Dana Cronin It’s been almost ten months since the signing of the first phase of a trade agreement between the United States and China. In the lofty deal, China pledged to buy an additional $200 billion in goods and services over two years. Since its signing, President Trump has repeatedly touted the deal on the campaign trail, citing its benefits for the agriculture sector in particular. But according to the most recent public data available, China is falling short on its purchases. “Overall, it's incredibly unlikely for China to be able to meet the goals,” says Chad Bown , Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Bown estimates that China had only reached 53% of the expected purchase target through the end of September. “They would have to buy a lot of aircraft in the last three months of 2020. You know, big-ticket items like that,” he says. “They would have to buy a lot of soybeans.” The phase one agreement was ambitious to begin with, and some trade experts have https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/incredibly-unlikely-china-will-meet-its-trade-targets-expert-says 936 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 30 Oct 2020 22:03:58 +0000 ‘Incredibly Unlikely’ China Will Meet Its Trade Targets, Expert Says Amy Mayer In January, amid much fanfare and optimism, China and the United States signed phase one of a trade deal intended to be the first step toward ending the nearly two-year-old trade war. In the agreement, China agreed to increase its purchases of agricultural products by $32 billion over the next two years. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding hit to the global economy, which led to lower prices for commodities like soybeans, one of the things China buys from the United States. With the deal’s goals written in dollars, not volume, Steve Nicholson, an analyst with Rabo Agri-Finance in St. Louis, says the terms have become more complicated. “If you’ve promised to take $36 billion worth of goods and commodity prices are going down, that just makes [it] very, very difficult for that to happen,” he said. What’s more, June kicked off with China pausing state-owned companies’ imports of U.S. soybeans and pork. The move was in response to the United States attempting to punish https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/phase-one-deal-china-falling-victim-pandemic-politics 870 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 05 Jun 2020 21:31:33 +0000 Phase One Deal With China Falling Victim To Pandemic, Politics Christina Stella The Trump administration confirmed this week negotiations for the first phase of a US-China trade agreement are finished. President Trump also elected not to enact additional tariffs planned for December 15th. Brad Lubben, an agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was happy to see a trade ceasefire between the two countries. But he said the hardest work likely lies ahead for negotiators who may not see eye-to-eye on how to de-escalate tariffs. “If the U.S. says China is going to substantially increase its ag exports, and China says it will increase its purchases, but only to the extent that the market dictates, then how do you follow Chinese purchases closely? And how do you determine what really represents a follow up on their promise, and what really represents changing market conditions?” Lubben said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said China will purchase at least 40 billion dollars in agricultural goods over the next two years. According to https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/phase-one-trade-deal-nears-finish-line-some-details-still-arent-clear 815 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 20 Dec 2019 23:51:00 +0000 As A Phase One Trade Deal Nears The Finish Line, Some Details Still Aren't Clear Bobby Allyn Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET The Trump administration will provide $16 billion in aid to help keep farmers afloat as they reel from the yearlong trade war between the U.S. and China, the latest sign that the world's two largest economies are still far from striking a long-term trade agreement. The bulk of the support, or about $14.5 billion, is direct aid to farmers, which producers will start to see some time this summer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters in a briefing on Thursday. "While farmers themselves will tell you they'd rather have trade than aid, without the trade that has been possible, they're going to need some support," he said. Perdue placed the blame for farmers' economic losses on China, rather than on the Trump administration's own hard-line trade tactics. "Frankly," he said, "all of this would have been moot if China would have acted appropriately and fairly in many of the areas regarding intellectual property theft and nontariff barriers that they have https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/white-house-announces-16-billion-aid-farmers-hurt-china-trade-dispute 728 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 23 May 2019 18:17:36 +0000 White House Announces $16 Billion In Aid To Farmers Hurt By China Trade Dispute Bill Chappell The Trump administration is preparing a new list of $300 billion worth of Chinese imports that would be hit with tariffs of up to 25%, after China retaliated Monday in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a list of Chinese goods that would be hit with new duties, ranging from artists' brushes and paint rollers to clocks and watches. The list also includes a wide range of sporting goods, from baseballs to fishing reels. And it dedicates several pages to agricultural products, from livestock to dairy, plants and vegetables. Staples such as rice and tea are on the list. "The proposed product list covers essentially all products not currently covered by action in this investigation," the USTR office says. It adds, "The proposed product list excludes pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals." The U.S. proposal will enter a public comment period https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/us-prepares-tariffs-another-300-billion-imported-chinese-goods 717 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Tue, 14 May 2019 15:32:22 +0000 U.S. Prepares Tariffs On Additional $300B Of Imported Chinese Goods Yuki Noguchi The prices of the things we buy, from floor lamps to canoes and bicycles, are slated to go up, literally overnight, as the Trump administration makes good on a promise to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese products . With trade talks between the U.S. and China yielding no deal , consumers and the businesses that serve them say they're bracing for bigger ripple effects. Retailers, manufacturers, small farmers and multinational conglomerates are united in their concern about the potentially damaging impacts of additional tariffs to their businesses and their consumers. The way that reverberates through Jim Kittle's family furniture business is indicative of how that might pass down through to consumers. Kittle's Furniture started in 1932, expanded throughout Indiana and has remained in the family for three generations. About 30% of all the household furnishings in their stores are made in China, then shipped by boat to the United States. As of Friday, new tariffs https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/new-round-tariffs-takes-bigger-bite-consumers-budget 714 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 10 May 2019 13:57:52 +0000 New Round Of Tariffs Takes A Bigger Bite Of Consumers' Budget Jonathan Ahl In theory, closing off China’s soybean market due to the trade dispute with the U.S. on top of generally low prices for the commodity should affect all industry players, big to small. Agriculture economist Pat Westhoff begged to differ. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/soybeans-singled-out-us-china-trade-war-small-farmers-bear-brunt 668 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 08 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000 Soybeans Singled Out In U.S.-China Trade War, But Small Farmers Bear The Brunt Grant Gerlock The U.S. trade war with China has created a financial burden for farmers and companies that import Chinese goods. Consumers, on the other hand, have mostly been spared from the conflict. That could all change if this month’s negotiations between the U.S. and China don’t go well. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/march-madness-if-trade-war-continues-cost-will-likely-reach-consumers 667 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 07 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000 March Madness: If Trade War Continues, The Cost Will Likely Reach Consumers Madelyn Beck The U.S. trade war with China, now approaching a year, is often framed as hurting manufacturing and agriculture the most. But that’s mainly collateral damage in an international struggle over power and technology that has its roots in the Cold War, when China was still considered a largely undeveloped country. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/messy-technological-roots-us-trade-war-china 666 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 06 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000 The Messy Technological Roots Of The U.S. Trade War With China Madelyn Beck For crop farmers, winter is the offseason. But that doesn’t mean they take the winter off. It’s meeting season — going to endless seminars or having discussions about better ways to farm — and planning season. Planning may seem like it would be a challenge given the trade uncertainties, including the tariff war with China. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/undeterred-trade-uncertainty-farmers-plan-spring-planting 653 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Tue, 08 Jan 2019 18:10:40 +0000 Undeterred By Trade Uncertainty, Farmers Plan For Spring Planting Amy Mayer After a year that saw persistently low prices for many agricultural products — exacerbated by the retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. goods — farmers are eager for a recovery in 2019. Pork producers have been working within the trade-war parameters since China imposed a hefty tariff in April . Northeast Iowa pig farmer Al Wulfkuhle said the sudden drop in Chinese demand for U.S. pork turned what had started as a promising year into a challenging one. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/tariffs-tamper-don-t-squash-us-pork-market 647 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 26 Dec 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Tariffs Tamper With, But Don’t Squash U.S. Pork Market Grant Gerlock Prices for crops like corn and soybeans have declined as the U.S. has sparred with top trading partners, but exports of those crops have not plummeted the way many observers had feared. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/exports-steady-key-crops-trade-tariff-disputes-continue 587 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Tue, 11 Sep 2018 21:32:04 +0000 Exports Steady For Key Crops As Trade, Tariff Disputes Continue Frank Morris Harvest season isn’t far away for corn and soybean farmers, whose crops are worth less now than when they planted in the spring due to the United States’ trade war. “We don't know what to think from one day to the next. It's hard to plan,” said Duane Hund, a farmer in Kansas’ Flint Hills. Forty percent of farmers polled this summer by Farm Futures said President Donald Trump’s trade policy is permanently damaging U.S. agriculture. The scrambling of global markets is just beginning, Hund said, and pointed to the 1980 Russian grain embargo as an example. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/farmers-say-current-trade-war-mirrors-1980-russian-grain-embargo 574 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Mon, 20 Aug 2018 16:09:07 +0000 Farmers Say Current Trade War Mirrors 1980 Russian Grain Embargo Stephen Koranda Vice President Mike Pence came to Kansas City Wednesday, where he touted Republicans running for office on both sides of the state line and tried to ease concerns about the Trump administration’s expanding trade war . https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/pence-stumps-republicans-kansas-city-says-trade-disputes-will-end-well 550 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 12 Jul 2018 16:54:47 +0000 Pence Stumps For Republicans In Kansas City, Says Trade Disputes Will End Well Rob Schmitz The order came in April. China's government instructed farmers in the country's northeastern breadbasket region to grow more soybeans, calling it "a political priority." But soybean fields lay empty in the village of Sandaogou, which means "Three Ditches," in Liaoning province. It has been a dry spring. "We've had a drought this year, so we planted soybeans late. The seedlings should be out by now. We need more rain," says farmer Liu, who only gives her surname for fear of trouble with local authorities. Soy, after all, has become "political." China is the world's largest consumer of soybeans, a key product for making things like oil and pig feed, and is America's biggest buyer of the beans. But China has raised tariffs on a number of items including soybeans shipped from the U.S., in retaliation against new import duties on Chinese goods imposed by the Trump administration. On Monday, President Trump ordered his trade representative to draft a new list of $200 billion in Chinese goods https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/china-tells-farmers-grow-more-soybeans-amid-trade-fight-us 541 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 22 Jun 2018 18:46:43 +0000 China Tells Farmers To Grow More Soybeans Amid Trade Fight With U.S. Amy Mayer Animal feed mixed from ingredients sourced around the world could be carrying more than the vitamins and nutrients livestock need. Seven different viruses that could cause widespread illness and big economic losses for meat producers in the United States can survive in certain imported feed products. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/study-animal-feed-could-be-carrying-next-deadly-livestock-virus 486 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 12 Apr 2018 19:07:27 +0000 Study: Animal Feed Could Be Carrying The Next Deadly Livestock Virus Amy Mayer Updated April 4 to clarify the export percentage — China matters to the U.S. pork industry, as more than a quarter of all hogs raised here are shipped there. So, China’s decision to up its tariffs on 128 U.S. products, pork included, worried producers and rippled through the stock market. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/hog-producers-brace-trouble-due-chinas-tariffs-imports 479 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 04 Apr 2018 15:55:27 +0000 Hog Producers Brace For Trouble Due To China's Tariffs On Imports