U.S. beef disappears from Beijing menus as trade war fires up (1 Viewer)

[Ikari]

The market abroad hasn't been cut. Just because China isn't buying a very small proportion of our exports doesn't mean other countries won't.

Except that we're in a Trade War with those other countries too.

lol

 

[ataraxia]

Your snark and shift away from the issue to a ad-hominum comment about me has been noted.

The issue is this is going to hurt US beef industry in a big way. MAGA!

 

[Variant]

That's an issue because we already know what Donald wants: submission and subservience. It's the only thing that matters to him. Now if these nations were willing to sacrifice a bit of face, they'd give Donald what he actually wants, which is a large statue of him standing majestically in their capital city--let's face it, Donald would immediately drop all tariffs with any nation that did so--but citizens of a nation typically have pride in their people, their nation and their government, so none will have the appetite for giving Donald the only thing he truly values.

It's more like when they ask him and his negotiating teams what they want they can't say and don't have the power to make a deal.

Japan keeps asking the US what it wants in trade talks and can't get an answer | Forexlive

Japanese negotiators went home on Friday

www.forexlive.com

If Trump would come out and say "I want a big statute" that would actually be better.

 

[phoenix2020]

It's more like when they ask him and his negotiating teams what they want they can't say and don't have the power to make a deal.

Japan keeps asking the US what it wants in trade talks and can't get an answer | Forexlive

Japanese negotiators went home on Friday

www.forexlive.com

If Trump would come out and say "I want a big statute" that would actually be better.

See, this is where other nations could play it smarter. They know like we know what Donald is: a big man-child who craves validation. They know that $2M to build a large gold-painted Trump statue is a small price to pay for 4 years of being able to do whatever the heck they want with or to the United States. They don't need Trump to come out and say it any more than you or I need that. The world already knows who he is, what he wants and what tantrums he'll throw until he's given a toy, a pacifier then put back in the crib.

The article you linked does have a good suggestion however.

"If I'm one of those countries, I would make a whole bunch of promises that sound good in a headline, like buying fighter planes and whatnot ... then just not do those things. You're probably only going to have to leg it out until the mid-terms."

 

[Variant]

See, this is where other nations could play it smarter. They know like we know what Donald is: a big man-child who craves validation. They know that $2M to build a large gold-painted Trump statue is a small price to pay for 4 years of being able to do whatever the heck they want with or to the United States. They don't need Trump to come out and say it any more than you or I need that. The world already knows who he is, what he wants and what tantrums he'll throw until he's given a toy, a pacifier then put back in the crib.

I wouldn't be surprised if the government of Japan can't get down to that level to understand Trump in the way you suppose they can.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Beef is already too expensive to eat here. An ordinary sirloin steak is like $15-20.

I can only imagine how out-of-reach expensive American beef is in China, even without China imposing a tariff (read "beef tax") on their own citizens.

Most Chinese will rarely eat beef. Especially steak, most don't like rare or medium rare meat

 

[Taylor]

Since Donald threatened most of the rest of the world, few if any nations will be willing to do business with us going forward.

Highly doubtful.

So far, it appears that Russia and El Salvador may be the only two nations remaining that have an appetite for more American exports. Maybe North Korea and Hungary.

That's not true. There are a lot of countries that would rather keep the trade flowing.

Indonesia says to increase US imports, lower orders from other countries​

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-says-increase-us-imports-would-divert-orders-elsewhere-2025-04-18/

Thailand to increase US imports, lower taxes in tariff response​

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/thailand-increase-us-imports-lower-taxes-tariff-response-2025-04-08/

South Korea trade minister says considering measures to boost US imports

South Korea's trade minister said on Tuesday that the government has been considering measures to increase imports from the United States as he headed to Washington to negotiate over U.S. tariffs.Minister Cheong In-kyo, who will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said it was good...

www.thestandard.com.hk

 

[Taylor]

Except that we're in a Trade War with those other countries too.

lol

See above.

 

[Ikari]

See above.

Oh Thailand, eh? Well if there's a country that could pick up the slack in consumerism it's certainly a country with 5% the population of China.

lol

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Highly doubtful.


That's not true. There are a lot of countries that would rather keep the trade flowing.

Indonesia says to increase US imports, lower orders from other countries​

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-says-increase-us-imports-would-divert-orders-elsewhere-2025-04-18/

Thailand to increase US imports, lower taxes in tariff response​

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/thailand-increase-us-imports-lower-taxes-tariff-response-2025-04-08/

South Korea trade minister says considering measures to boost US imports

South Korea's trade minister said on Tuesday that the government has been considering measures to increase imports from the United States as he headed to Washington to negotiate over U.S. tariffs.Minister Cheong In-kyo, who will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said it was good...

www.thestandard.com.hk

What are they going to import?

Then just how will they sell the products?

Cars? To expensive
Phones, not made in the US
Agricultural products, sure with US government subsidies
Military equipment potentially but they will be too expensive for most as well

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Oh Thailand, eh? Well if there's a country that could pick up the slack in consumerism it's certainly a country with 5% the population of China.

lol

America can sell them soy beans and rice, hugely big win

 

[noonereal]

I've eaten steak in China. It's disgusting.

Good god. I can't belive you posted this crap.

You know what i have found? You get what you pay for. Try an upscale restaurant next time.

 

[The Mark]

It's interesting how according to our local MAGA, Donald was working on 75 simultaneous "deals" and yet so far we have not seen a single one come to fruition. Meanwhile, literally dozens of deals have been inked between nations affected by tariffs to bypass the United States altogether.

I'm fairly sure that Trump's idiot fixation on tariffs has quite possibly forever ruined the trading network that was a huge part of why we have so much.

At the very least it will take a long ****ing time before anyone trusts us to be a good trading partner again.

 

[BirdinHand]

I'm sure they had no problem finding other suppliers to make up for the very small proportion of beef imports they made from the US.

All the more for the rest of us!

The market abroad hasn't been cut. Just because China isn't buying a very small proportion of our exports doesn't mean other countries won't.

The US exported about $1.6B annually in beef to China.

China was about 15% of the US beef export market.

That's a pretty hefty singular hit to beef exports. Going to suck for the farmers and ranchers.

 

[Michael Cole]

I'm sure they had no problem finding other suppliers to make up for the very small proportion of beef imports they made from the US.

All the more for the rest of us!

That's right. What better way to "correct" the trade imbalance - the explicit reason for the Trump tariffs - than by driving your customers away. Buy the bar a round.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

The US exported about $1.6B annually in beef to China.

China was about 15% of the US beef export market.

That's a pretty hefty singular hit to beef exports. Going to suck for the farmers and ranchers.

Opens the Chinese market to Canadian beef, that faces tariffs going to the US, win for Canada

Another win is the US farmer is going to have vastly higher input costs this year. Chinese and Indian pesticide AIs have kept prices low, without Chinese tech herbicide prices will skyrocket for the US farmer. Roundup during Covid had huge price increases as Chinese suppliers were unable to export, the Canadian farmer will get better deals and access to better markets. They should have a good year financially

 

[BirdinHand]

Opens the Chinese market to Canadian beef, that faces tariffs going to the US, win for Canada

Another win is the US farmer is going to have vastly higher input costs this year. Chinese and Indian pesticide AIs have kept prices low, without Chinese tech herbicide prices will skyrocket for the US farmer. Roundup during Covid had huge price increases as Chinese suppliers were unable to export, the Canadian farmer will get better deals and access to better markets. They should have a good year financially

Yep.

Trump screwed American farmers, again.

Shocking

 

[The Mark]

That's right. What better way to "correct" the trade imbalance - the explicit reason for the Trump tariffs - than by driving your customers away. Buy the bar a round.

The very idea of correcting the trade imbalance they way they did is stupid, though.

There's an imbalance because nations aren't identical. Especially when you're talking some of the places that got tariffs based on that UTTERLY IDIOTIC MATH THEY USED.

 

[The AntiDonald]

I've eaten steak in China. It's disgusting.

Trumpers have an amazing skill of saying something without saying anything. What in the hell does that have to do with American farmers losing business to other beef producers? Trump's desired effect if backfiring. China is flipping the middle finger at us and doing it with a smile.

Perhaps the only silver lining in this cloud is we'll have an increased supply of beef and lower prices.

 

[Michael Cole]

The very idea of correcting the trade imbalance is stupid, though.

Of course it is. Leaving out modern monetary policy and government debt, our trade imbalance shows we have a high standard of living and we produce a surplus. That we spend some of this surplus on imported goods is a product of the consumerism that drives the economy.

We must keep in mind that China has four times our population. For a majority of Chinese, the term "disposable income" doesn't exist.

There's an imbalance because nations aren't identical. Especially when you're talking some of the places that got tariffs based on that UTTERLY IDIOTIC MATH THEY USED.

Exactly. There are legitimate uses for tariffs, especially where national security is concerned, but economically, they are counterproductive.

 

[The Mark]

Of course it is. Leaving out modern monetary policy and government debt, our trade imbalance shows we have a high standard of living and we produce a surplus. That we spend some of this surplus on imported goods is a product of the consumerism that drives the economy.

We must keep in mind that China has four times our population. For a majority of Chinese, the term "disposable income" doesn't exist.


Exactly. There are legitimate uses for tariffs, especially where national security is concerned, but economically, they are counterproductive.

I've seen a statistic mentioned a few times, though I'm not sure how accurate it is.

Apparently, the BRICS contains 60% of the world's population, while the USA contains 4%

I don't know precisely what that means, but it seems like it has to mean more potential consumers and trading partners within BRICS, compared to the USA.

 

[SCrider]

The market abroad hasn't been cut. Just because China isn't buying a very small proportion of our exports doesn't mean other countries won't.

You think other countries will pick up the loss of the Chinese market for American farmers? Why would they in the face of Trump's tariffs?
Soy bean farmers lost a significant share last time trump ****ed them over and did not recover from it.

 

[Taylor]

Oh Thailand, eh? Well if there's a country that could pick up the slack in consumerism it's certainly a country with 5% the population of China.

lol

Didn't even get past the first link?

 

[Ikari]

Didn't even get past the first link?

Yes, some other low percent countries far from the consumerism of China.

Those aren't wins. They may "but more", but they do not have the consumption rates of China, let alone the number of customers. All you're doing is pretending. Projections are already showing decreased growth and if Trump goes harder off the rails, we could see even more loss.

 

[Michael Cole]

Highly doubtful.


That's not true. There are a lot of countries that would rather keep the trade flowing.

Indonesia says to increase US imports, lower orders from other countries​

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-says-increase-us-imports-would-divert-orders-elsewhere-2025-04-18/

Thailand to increase US imports, lower taxes in tariff response​

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/thailand-increase-us-imports-lower-taxes-tariff-response-2025-04-08/

South Korea trade minister says considering measures to boost US imports

South Korea's trade minister said on Tuesday that the government has been considering measures to increase imports from the United States as he headed to Washington to negotiate over U.S. tariffs.Minister Cheong In-kyo, who will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said it was good...

www.thestandard.com.hk

This is well and good, but trade deals don't require trade wars. At the moment, American beef producers have product without buyers. When market equilibrium suddenly changes in this manner, producers are left with excess inventory. They'll sell the beef, but at discounted price.

Trade deals take months to years. Finding new customers can be equally difficult. Losing business to a needless trade war is not what anyone voted for, especially US beef producers. It's likely some won't recover.