China Cut U.S. Commodities Purchases to as Low as Zero Last Month

China significantly cut imports of various U.S. goods last month, with some categories seeing zero imports.

The U.S. accounted for 17% of China’s wheat imports last year and 5% of its LNG. I Photo: QatarEnergy

The move comes as tensions in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalated, Jenny McCall reported for Yahoo Finance.

Among the worst affected were purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and wheat, both of which fell to zero in March, according to Chinese customs data released Sunday. The U.S. accounted for 17% of China’s wheat imports last year and 5% of its LNG, Bloomberg News also reported.

China imposed retaliatory duties of 10% to 15% on U.S. energy products in February, and similar tariffs on agricultural goods in March. China’s purchases are likely to dwindle even further after the trade war escalated in early April, when both sides launched blanket tariffs of more than 100% on each other’s goods.