U.S. exports of hormone-free beef to Europe would triple under an agreement signed by President Trump and hailed by EU officials as a sign of tangible results for the strongest trade relationship in the world. Meanwhile, China said it “will have to take necessary counter-measures” if the United States expands the trade war on Sept. 1, as Trump has announced.
During a signing ceremony Friday at the White House, Trump said the agreement on beef “is a tremendous victory” for U.S. ranchers and European consumers. The agreement would allow the export of up to $420 million worth of beef to Europe, up from the current limit of $150 million. The EU is the third-largest market for U.S. exports of all types. Exports of U.S. beef worldwide are estimated at $7.4 billion this year.
“My administration is standing up for our farmers and ranchers like never before,” said Trump. “We’re protecting our farmers. We’re doing it in many ways, including with China.”
The United States and the EU have squabbled for years over Europe’s objections to the use of artificial growth stimulants in beef cattle. The agreement guarantees U.S. beef a large part of EU imports of beef raised without the hormones. “Today is about delivering real, positive, tangible results in the transatlantic trade relationship — the strongest, biggest relationship in the world,” said Stavros Lambrinidis, the EU’s ambassador to the United States.
Trump announced his administration will impose 10 percent tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese products, expanding the trade war to cover virtually all Chinese goods imported into the United States. “China will have to take necessary counter-measures,” said the Commerce Ministry in a statement, reported CNN. It cited analysts as saying China could impose additional tariffs on U.S. goods, restrict U.S. access to rare-earth minerals used in electronic devices, allow the yuan to weaken in value, or create new administrative barriers for U.S. companies doing business in China.