Posted on 09/23/2019 6:33:20 PM PDT by Thalean
Reuters reports that China will exempt some American agricultural products from its latest round of tariffs. This is welcome news—particularly for our pork and soybean producers who’ve been on the front lines of the trade war.
But what does the news really mean? Did China blink? Are they throwing us a bone? Or is just part of Xi Jinping’s 200 IQ 4D underwater chess gambit to win the trade war? The answer begins and ends with the economic data.
First up: pigs. China is by far the largest pork consumer on earth, and is expected to consume more than 50 million metric tons this year alone. This is more than twice what the European Union uses (around 21 million metric tons) and five times what Americans eat (just over 10 million metric tons). In fact, China eats more pork than the rest of the world combined. It’s a huge market—one that cannot be sustained without imports. Why?
Chinese pork production has been ravaged by an epidemic of swine fever. Estimates suggest that anywhere from 300-350 million pigs will perish by the end of 2019—one-quarter of the world’s total pork supply. As a result, the price of pork has more than doubled in China since the start of the year. Chinese consumers are hungry. They are angry. They want cheap pork.
Given that America is one of the few nations with enough pigs to satisfy China’s hunger, Xi Jinping has little choice but to buy American. China needs America’s pigs. This gives us leverage.
(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...
“China needs America’s pigs. This gives us leverage.”
Form an export cartel and set the price high.
“China needs America’s pigs.“
Bill and Hillary are available.
L
Does not china own Smithfield, a large pork producer? Why should they not be able to send all production to China?
I love Heritage Pork, not the lean, tasteless crap most producers sell these days. Fat is flavor.
We could send them our federal budget.
Because they have been under high tariff on the China end of things to screw our farmers. The foot they shot was their own as it seems.
I see what you are doing there....
VERY FUNNY, and soooo true...
I suppose that increased demand from China will mean our pork prices at the store are heading up soon.
They own the company, why would they put a tariff on themselves?
Tariffs are not done on a company level but on products as they leave the country.
Great post!
You remind me I need to get down to a Pine Street Market.
https://www.pinestreetmarket.com/fresh-cuts
They can. But, it still comes from American farmers.
Because they have centralized control in their economy instead of capitalism. The guy in charge was more interested in hurting Wmerica than helping China. Until the problem got big enough to catch his attention.
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A capitalist market automatically adjusts in a thousand ways, a centralized market cannot.
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