So just about every country in trade disputes with the US, including China, have decided to make pork a target of their retaliation. Trade disputes have never made sense, so tit-for-tat ignores the logic of banning a product where the largest producer, Smithfield Foods is owned by a Chinese company, WH Group, LLC. Steel and aluminum are not even close to pork. So while it may sound like it is really hurting the base of the Republican Party to slap tariffs on farmers who can’t do much to defend themselves, China suffers the losses in revenue. China says nothing. They agree to buy pork and soybeans as a way to overcome this whole deal on trade imbalances with the US. Of course, they would like for those prices to drop a little befoe they do buy those things, so trade disputes add to their blessing.
The whole target of tariffs was CHINA, but we lost that in the beginning and now it is something else. China has carefully avoided sanctions on their steel and aluminum (see my post yesterday on this) but seems OK with allowing US hog farmers to get whacked in retaliation. One of the bad things about being bought by a Chinese company is the politics on both sides. Let that be a lesson to you Smithfield.
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