China is targeting American agricultural exports as it prepares retaliatory measures against new US import tariffs, China's state-backed Global Times reported, raising the stakes in an escalating trade war between the world's top two economies.

US President Donald Trump last week threatened China with an additional 10% tariff that would take effect on Tuesday, resulting in a cumulative tariff of 20%, and accused Beijing of not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into America, which China said amounted to "blackmail."

"China is studying and formulating relevant countermeasures in response to the US threat to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products under the pretext of fentanyl," the Global Times reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources.

"The countermeasures are likely to include tariffs and a series of non-tariff measures, and US agricultural and food products are likely to be listed," the report added.

China's Ministry of Commerce and the US Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China is the largest market for US agricultural products, and the sector has long been vulnerable to being targeted in times of trade tensions.

"Despite declining imports since 2018, any tariffs on key US agricultural products such as soybeans, beef and grains could have a significant impact on US-China trade and US exporters and farmers," said Genevieve Donnellon-May, a research fellow at the Oxford Global Society.

"The US agricultural sector has had time to prepare for a second Trump administration and trade war 2.0, with lessons learned from the first Trump administration," she added.

"So, in theory, it should be better placed to find alternative markets. However, the reality may prove much more complicated."

China's most active soybean meal and rapeseed meal futures, already supported by supply shortages, jumped 2.5% each after the Global Times report. Soybean meal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange hit their highest since Sept. 30, 2024.

The world's largest agricultural importer and second-largest economy brought in $29.25 billion worth of U.S. farm products in 2024, down 14% from a year earlier, extending a 20% decline seen in 2023.

The Global Times, owned by the ruling Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, was the first to report China's planned steps in response to tariffs imposed by the European Union on Chinese electric vehicles last year.

Trump's announcement leaves Beijing with less than a week to come up with countermeasures or reach a deal. The proposed additional levies also coincide with the start of China's annual parliamentary meeting, a political event where Beijing will announce its economic priorities for 2025.(Newsmaker23)

Sumber: Investing.com