Chinese shoppers shrug off tariffs on US farm products pantry staples

BEIJING – Chinese tariffs on a range of American fruit, vegetables and other pantry staples took effect on March 10, but locals at a lively Beijing market largely shrugged off the escalating trade war.

The levies of 10 per cent and 15 per cent on American agricultural products, which also include meat, grains and cotton, were imposed after US President Donald Trump raised a blanket tariff on all Chinese goods to 20 per cent last week.

Vendors in a downtown market said they were not worried about sales despite the potential for higher prices at the check-out.

“If prices go up, folks won’t eat imported stuff,” a fruit seller, surnamed Shi, said. “There will be more domestic goods sold, and I think this is something folks can accept.”

Mr Shi’s offerings – from bananas and strawberries to durian and mangosteen – come from all around the world, but he said fruit grown within China typically sells better.

“The freshness of our domestic products is greater than imported stuff,” the 31-year-old said.

Mr Shi said he might sell fewer US varieties while offering more options from other countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.

A steady stream of shoppers, mostly retirees, carried bags of meat and produce as they meandered through the market’s stalls.

Ms He Yulian, who was visiting her daughter in Beijing, said she was indifferent about the trade war.

She said she cared only about quality, not where a product was from.

“For regular folks, if we can tell something is imported from the United States, we can try to buy less of it – or not at all,” the 65-year-old from Shanxi said.

‘Responsibility to ourselves’

However, Ms He said that for certain products such as milk and infant formula, she preferred imports to their Chinese versions.