About 95 percent of the products on Beijing’s target list are from agriculture or food sectors, including soybeans — one of the most critical exports in the U.S. farm economy.

Farmers have been bracing for the consequences of soybean tariffs, since it could hammer a lucrative export market, reduce profits and have ripple effects across the rural economy. The U.S. could see an economic loss of $3 billion from the soybean tariffs, according to Purdue University estimates.

China buys about half of the U.S. soybean exports, or about $14 billion annually, and roughly one in three rows of soybeans grown on the nation’s farms goes to the world’s second-largest economy, according to the American Soybean Association.

“It really puts us with a big ‘bull’s eye’ on our back, you might say, because agriculture is usually and first and the easiest to implement (tariffs) and to get everyone’s attention — and they’re sure doing that,” said soybean farmer Richard Guebert Jr., president of the Illinois Farm Bureau.

China’s tariff action is in response to the White House’s announcement on June 15 to slap 25 percent duties on Chinese goods, mostly on items from aerospace, robotics and machinery industries. The bulk of those duties, or about $34 billion worth of imports from China, will see levies collected starting on July 6.

Besides soybeans, China’s new tariffs impact pork, wheat, rice and dairy, as well as a variety of fruit and vegetable products. One in 4 hogs in the U.S. is sold overseas, and the Chinese are the world’s top consumers of pork.

“We do feel like we’re getting kicked in the shin and in the elbow all at the same time,” said Joe Steinkamp, who grows soybeans and corn in southern Indiana. “Farmers need that export market, and if we don’t have it then they will suffer and rural communities are going to suffer.”

At about $1.1 billion, mainland China and Hong Kong together are among the top export markets for U.S. pork based on value, according to the U.S. Meat Foundation. Last year, China was the second-largest volume market for American pork, after Mexico.

Experts say by targeting high-value U.S. farm exports such as soybeans and pork with punitive tariffs, China was sending a message to President Donald Trump, since the two farm products are primarily from Midwestern states that helped him win the 2016 election.

“They are clearly designed to hit back at the heartland of America, and raise the costs of agricultural farm exports to China that will reduce consumption in China and force them to look for alternatives,” said Robert Holleyman, a former senior trade official during the Obama administration and now president of C&M International, a Washington consulting firm.

In the case of pork, the retaliation is especially painful for American farmers, and shows just how brutal the trade tussle has become between Beijing and Washington. The pork industry still is reeling from 25 percent tariffs China imposed back on April 2.

“Pork products into China could start to take an immediate hit,” said David Salmonsen, senior director of government relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s largest farm organization. “We’ll see how much but they will have a pretty high tariff for getting into that market.

China’s additional levies also apply to various seafood products, including salmon, tuna, shark fins, crab, shrimp and lobster. The U.S. exported more than $1.3 billion worth of seafood to China in 2017, with Maine lobster alone accounting for more than $90 million of that amount last year.

As for Mexico, the country responded to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs in early June by announcing penalties on more than a dozen agricultural products, including a planned 20 percent duty on pork. Mexico slapped unprocessed pork with an initial 10 percent tariff on June 5: That increases to 20 percent effective July 5.

More than $1 billion in U.S. pork products were exported to Mexico last year. U.S. pork hams are top sellers in Mexico, but friction over the border wall and renegotiation of NAFTA has led Mexico to look elsewhere for key agricultural and good products, including pork, soybeans and corn.

Mexico also is a major buyer of U.S. dairy products such as cheese. U.S. cheese exports will face new tariffs of 20 percent to 25 percent tariffs effective July 5, an increase from the current 10 to 15 percent levies in place since June 5.

Overall, Mexico’s tariffs announced in June cover $3 billion worth of American goods. Mexico and Canada together represent nearly one-third of total U.S. agricultural exports.

According to Reuters, Mexico has been studying additional tariffs that could be even more painful for American farmers, including levies on U.S. corn and soybeans. Mexico was the top export market for U.S. corn last year.

Corn exports to Mexico were valued at more than $2.3 billion in the most recent year, and soybean sales topped $1 billion.

Continental Europe has also has weighed in with its own set of tariffs in response to the White House’s duties on imported steel and aluminum.

The EU tariffs that were implemented June 22 apply to about 180 different products, or about $3.4 billion worth of American goods.

The products with import duties of 25 percent include motorbikes, jeans, boats and whiskey, as well as well as agricultural products like sweet corn, rice, tobacco, peanut butter and orange juice.

Europe is a key foreign market for Wisconsin-based Harley-Davidson, accounting for about 16 percent of the motorcycle maker’s sales last year. The manufacturer announced June 25 in a regulatory filing it would shift some production of motorbikes outside the U.S. to help it “avoid the tariff burden.” The iconic American company’s decision to relocate some production overseas didn’t sit well with Trump. He tweeted: “I’ve done so much for you, and then this.”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1011994162076573697

Clarification: EU tariffs were implemented on June 22.