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Pigs, paws and pistachios: US goods face tariffs in China
BEIJING, July 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – From pig heads to pistachios to whiskey,
China’s proposed list of targeted US products for higher border taxes could
take a bite out of bilateral trade between the world’s top two economies.
After Washington imposed new tariffs on billions of Chinese imports just
past the stroke of midnight Friday, Beijing hit back immediately dollar for
dollar.
China has not officially updated its list of items targeted but last month
gave a detailed run-down that was not expected to change.
Big-ticket items from the US like soybeans, autos, and sorghum were
listed, but also some less headline grabbing items that may find it more
difficult to find a market beyond China’s 1.4 billion consumers.
– Pig heads & feet –
Pork offal, the entrails and internal organs of hogs that most American
foodies shy away from are big sellers in China, bringing in $251 million last
year. “Feet of swine” and “head meat of swine” were the most enticing organs,
US customs data shows.
But a pig feet importer at Dongguan Qianteng Import & Export, Mr. Zhu,
said, “the quality of American pig feet is just alright, but the price is
lower than elsewhere.”
Dongguan Qianteng is still considering its pig feet options post-tariff
hike, Zhu said, adding “price is critical”. Demand has not flagged: barbecued
feet sprinkled with sesame seeds is a local delicacy.
– Pistachios –
California’s trademark crop, grown on bushy trees in the golden state,
landed on Beijing’s tariff list along with a handful of American fruits and
nuts.
Chinese eat almost half of America’s pistachio export, research from trade
data firm Panjiva shows. Pistachios, along with $175 million worth of nuts
are set for new taxes.
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“They’re a major buyer of just about every product that we have,” Ryan
Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, told Sacramento’s Capital
Public Radio.
“We’re talking a very substantial potential loss if the consumers don’t
pick up the difference on this,” Jacobsen said on the radio.
– Chicken paws –
The sale of America’s unwanted chicken feet, or “paws” as they are known
within the industry, to China is what many economists consider the holy grail
of trade: US waste becomes a Chinese treat.
Sales were looking ripe for growth before the latest tariffs.
“If you think about those type of products there’s a limited number of
markets they can go to”, said Christopher Rogers, an analyst at trade data
firm Panjiva.
“It’s going to hurt (the) American farmer’s earnings at the margin,” he
said.
– Salmon –
America’s salmon exports to China are on a tear, with the most popular
type exploding 176 percent last year to earn $171 million.
It was perhaps set for another boost this year after state media
inadvertently revealed a good portion of China’s domestic salmon — one-third
of the salmon eaten by local consumers — was actually a type of rainbow
trout, farmed in northwest Qinghai province.
– Whiskey –
Every month this year about five shipping containers of Jack Daniel’s
Tennessee Whiskey left port in Savannah, Georgia bound for China, according
to trade data from Panjiva.
In Beijing and Shanghai, clubbers guzzle the Tennessee honey with green
and black tea, and occasionally, Coke.
Gotham East, a Shanghai-based spirits importer, said it had tried to rush
a July shipment of Ragtime Rye whiskey from New York through customs to avoid
the new tax but wasn’t able to get it processed in time.
“Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” said Daniel Taytslin,
Gotham’s co-founder.
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