By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-10 21:22:02 | Updated at 2026-08-10 22:01:20
51 minutes ago
A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard at the main entrance gate of the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Jan. 9, 2019. Oliver Zhang/AP Photo
China has said it would impose provisional measures on imports of U.S. pecans starting this week, adding to tensions between the world’s two largest economies just weeks before Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House.
From Aug. 11, importers will have to provide a 54.3 percent “security deposit” to Chinese customs when importing pecans originating from the United States, the regime’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Aug. 10.
Mexican pecan importers will also be required to pay a deposit, though the rates are slightly lower, ranging from 17.8 percent to 51.6 percent, depending on the producer, according to the ministry.
The ministry claimed it has preliminarily determined that U.S. and Mexican pecans are being dumped—sold at unfairly low prices—in the Chinese market and that domestic producers suffered injuries.
In a separate statement, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said American producers faced higher rates because none responded to the investigation and that the investigation is ongoing and the decision is not final.
U.S. pecan sales into China have already declined sharply, from $26.5 million in January 2024 to just $123,000 this April, with no imports recorded in May and June, according to China’s customs data.
Moving forward, the United States is expected to lose more share in China’s pecan market, as Beijing increasingly relies on South Africa, now China’s largest pecan supplier, according to a November 2025 assessment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It attributed the fall in U.S. exports to China from late 2024 through mid-2025 to reduced global supply and China’s tariffs on American nuts.
China currently maintains a 10 percent retaliatory tariff on pecans and other U.S.-originating products, under a tentative trade deal reached in October 2025.
Beijing’s announcement came as the two countries prepare for a Sept. 24 summit in Washington between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump.
It also came less than a week after Beijing tightened export controls on drones to the United States and blacklisted multiple American companies.
The ministry said on Aug. 5 that it would also launch the first-ever national security investigation into imported printers and other office equipment, calling the measures retaliation for Washington’s recent technology curbs and blacklisting of more than 40 Chinese companies over forced labor concerns.
On Aug. 6, China’s top cyber regulator opened a formal security review of products sold by Palo Alto Networks, a California-headquartered tech firm that has published extensive research on foreign cybersecurity espionage, including hacking campaigns sponsored by Beijing.
The investigation into U.S. and Mexican pecans was launched in September 2025. Analysts who spoke to The Epoch Times at the time viewed the move as a message to Mexico and other Latin American countries that siding with Washington in imposing tariffs on Chinese imports comes at a cost.
