AFP – Chinese tariffs on a range of United States (US) fruit, vegetables and other pantry staples took effect yesterday but locals at a lively Beijing market largely shrugged off the escalating trade war.
The levies of 10 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 weren’t 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, told AFP.
“There will be more domestic goods sold, and I think this is something folks can accept.”
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.
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. 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 US, we can try to buy less of it – or not at all,” the 65-year-old from Shanxi said.
However, He said that for certain products such as milk and infant formula, she preferred imports to their Chinese versions.
Beijing’s tariffs took effect yesterday, although they will not apply to goods that left before March 10 as long as they arrive in China by April 12.
Fruit seller Shi said that, while levies were being put in place by both sides, the fight would be “better for China” because domestic goods would “become more powerful”.
In the short term, though, he acknowledged that everyday budgets might be hit.
“You still need to buy what you need at home,” he said. “Indeed, it’s regular people who suffer the most.”
