Trump Plans to Ease Trade Tensions by Reducing Tariffs On Chinese Goods

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:48:40 GMT

Comments President Donald Trump made at a White House press briefing on Tuesday have signaled the U.S. trade war with China is about to de-escalate.

The 145% import tax rate imposed on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be a zero,” Trump said.

“I don’t know if we can call what President Trump did on China a U-turn, but some people are calling it that,” AgriTalk Host Chip Flory said on Wednesday. He asked guests what their level of support is for what the Trump administration is doing on trade currently.

“I think he’s doing what needed to be done,” said Scott McGregor a cattleman and grain producer from northeast Iowa, near Nashua.

McGregor said he wants to see a level playing field for the U.S. in its trade efforts and negotiations with China.

“China needs to be a trade partner, not just a trading destination. That’s a lot of it,” McGregor said. Get the complete AgriTalk discussion here .

Financial Losses In The U.S. Beef Industry

Beef producers are reported to be “losing up to $165 per head on cattle currently, due to the absence of Chinese competition for high-value cuts like short rib and chuck. That’s a $4 billion annual blow to the U.S. beef sector…,” reported The Scottish Farmer last week.

McGregor said he would like to see the U.S. open up new markets for its beef and grain products to increase opportunities and minimize potential risks from future tariffs.

“China is not our only destination for our ag products, right? We need to expand our horizons as much as we can,” McGregor said.

When U.S. cattlemen start talking about market opportunities, Flory said they often turn their focus on Australia. The U.S. imports about $3-billion worth of beef from Australia a year.

“Australia doesn’t import any beef from the U.S., and there’s cattlemen here that would like to see that fixed,” Flory said. “But the issue is, there’s only, what, 30 million people in Australia?”

Furthermore, Australia has a lot of beef to export that the U.S. needs for use in hamburger, McGregor said.

“I know people don’t want us to import it, but Nellie bar the door if we couldn’t import beef from Australia for grinding,” he said. “Our demand is so huge here in the United States that we have got to import it. It has to meet all the specs that our beef does for importation, and it isn’t like we’re just willy-nilly importing some beef. We need it bad. And yes, it’d be great if they took some of our beef, but they don’t have the population.”

China has turned its attention and dollars to accessing more Australian beef, as well. According to Meat and Livestock Australia, Australian grain-fed beef exports to China surged almost 40% in February and March year-on-year, according to The Scottish Farmer article.

“Australian beef finds itself in a rare sweet spot – a prime cut of opportunity in a world of lean margins,” the article said.

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Trump Plans to Ease Trade Tensions by Reducing Tariffs On Chinese Goods