China’s announcement of 34% reciprocal tariffs on ag products against tariffs from the United States has U.S. pulse farmers bracing in anticipation of further trade uncertainty, an industry leader says.

China is a large market for U.S. peas and an emerging market for lentils and chickpeas, said Tim McGreevy, chief executive officer for the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. The U.S. sends about 80,000 metric tons of pulses to China each year.

“That’s about 80,000 metric tons that will be not as competitive as some other origination spots,” McGreevy told the Capital Press.

China recently slapped a 100% tariff on Canadian peas, McGreevy noted.

“If you look at how all the trade is shifting, probably Russia is going to be the biggest winner of this tariff situation, at least in China,” McGreevy said. “It’s still possible we’ll get some peas into China, although President Trump has announced there will be additional tariffs on China, so it changes every day, it seems. … So we could be 100% too. I don’t know how the Chinese will respond to this.”

China is the first country to announce retaliatory tariffs on ag products. The council is watching the situation closely and communicating with farmers and customers overseas.

Every pulse crop is impacted by retaliatory tariffs, without a negotiated settlement, McGreevy said.

“Obviously we’re hoping the administration is pursuing negotiations so these tariffs aren’t implemented, or not implemented for too long,” he said.

During the first Trump administration, U.S. pulse crops lost about 37% of export volume and value and never fully recovered, McGreevy said.

India was the largest loss. They already had high tariffs on pulse crops, and added additional retaliatory tariffs specifically targeted towards the United States. Those additional tariffs were equalized with other countries in 2023.

The Trump administration is negotiating an agreement with India, which could potentially benefit pulse growers if included in the deal, McGreevy said.

More than half of total U.S. pulse crops are exported. About 70% of lentils are exported, about 60% to 65% of peas and 55% of chickpeas.

“Hopefully we’ll stay off of those retaliatory lists, but we’ll just have to wait and see how each government responds,” McGreevy said.

Effect on price

With tariff uncertainty and increased acreage, it’s hard to anticipate the impact on the pulse market.

“We are certainly concerned about the tariffs having an impact on prices as we move into harvest, if there’s not some deals cut to lower these tariffs before we harvest this crop,” McGreevy said. “We are hopeful the tariffs will be short-lived and there will be some negotiated settlements (so that) it doesn’t have that big of an impact on agriculture. I guess we’ll wait and see.”