By Mei Mei Chu and Ella Cao
Beijing (Reuters) on Tuesday prevented three companies in the US soybean import licenses and prevented imports of US logs, stepping up its revenge for additional US tariffs on Chinese goods.
Earlier in the day, China imposed import levies about $ 21 billion worth of U.S. agricultural and food products including soybeans, wheat, meat and cotton.
The three companies in the US affected by the license suspensions are CHS Inc., farmer-owned collaborative, global grain exporter Louis Dreyfus Grains Grains Marchandising LLC and EGT export grain terminal operator, Chinese customs section said in a statement.
Customs said it found Ergot and a seed coating agent in imported soybeans, while preventing US log imports was due to the detection of worms, Aspergillus and other pests.
Media representatives for Louis Dreyfus, CHS and Bunge Global, which partly own EGT, did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Beijing is revenge against US President Donald Trump's decision to enforce an additional duty of 10% on China, effectively on Tuesday, leading to a 20% cumulative tariff in response to what the White House considers a Chinese deficit over drug flow.
About half of the US soya are shipped to China, a total of nearly $ 12.8 billion in trade in 2024, according to the US Census office.
Preventing US logs directly responded to Trump's movement on March 1 into a trade investigation order on imported lumber. Earlier Trump had told reporters that he was considering setting a 25% tariff rate on lumber and forest products.
“The announcement of import restrictions on the US lumber and soybeans associated with phytosanitary issues follows a long history of similar measures by Beijing,” said even Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China.
Bulk import volumes and natural origin and lumber origin make them vulnerable to problems with health and plant pests, creating a convenient target for trade revenge, Pay said.
China is one of the world's largest importers of wood products and the third largest destination for us forest products. It imported about $ 850 million worth of logs and other rough wood products from the US in 2024, according to Chinese customs data.
Punishing farmers
Additional levies set by China earlier on Tuesday included a 15% tariff on chicken, wheat, corn and US cotton and an additional 10% levy on soybeans, sorghum, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, fruits and vegetables and dairy imports, effectively from March 10.