China Stops Purchases of US Ag Goods After Trump's Tariff Announcement

China is suspending purchases of U.S. agricultural products in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an additional 10-percent tariff on Chinese imports, according to an unofficial translation of a press release from China's Ministry of Commerce. China, calling Trump’s move a “serious violation” of negotiations, also said it is not ruling out imposing new import tariffs on “newly purchased” U.S. agricultural products. China said it has a “large market capacity” for U.S. agricultural goods and said it hopes the U.S. “will conscientiously implement the consensus reached” during the two sides’ last meeting.

The move stems from Trump’s Aug. 1 tweet that the U.S. would be imposing additional tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods on Sept. 1. China later promised to retaliate (see 1908020019).