These MD Industries Hit Hardest In Tit-For-Tat U.S.-China Trade War

MARYLAND — President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war puts about $1.88 billion in exports and 10,840 jobs on the line for Maryland businesses and industries, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.

Trump pulled back on some tariffs Wednesday, leaving a 10 percent across-the-board tariff in place but delaying more punitive taxes for 90 days with a lone exception. China increased its duties on U.S. goods to 84 percent in response to the tariffs, and Trump stuck back by raising the duty on imports from China to 125 percent.

The stock market quickly responded to the announcement, with stocks surging to one of their highest gains since World War II.

In 2023, U.S. exports to China amounted to $144.9 billion and supported almost 1 million jobs. The tariffs have divergent effects on states, even within industries. The hardest hit are those that produce soybeans, semiconductors, pharmaceutical preparations and crude oil, the top U.S. exports to China.

According to the U.S. China Business Council, Maryland exported $1.1 billion in goods and $780 million in services to China in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Top goods exported included coal and petroleum gases, pharmaceuticals and medicines, aerospace products and parts, oilseeds and grains, and basic chemicals.

Tariffs could have a significant impact on the Port of Baltimore, which serves as a major hub for exports to China.

Scott Cowan, the president of The International Longshoremen's Association Local 333, a union that represents thousands of port workers in Baltimore, told WJZ earlier this month that tariffs won’t impact work in the short term.

But if American companies and customers stop buying imports, fewer products will flow through Baltimore's port, therefore limiting the number of available dock jobs.

"It's not something that's going to happen overnight," Cowan told WJZ. "I'm curious to see, and I hope it doesn't impact us too much with cars being one of our main staples."

On Tuesday, Maryland’s Democratic federal lawmakers called on the Trump administration to outline the impact tariffs could have on the Port of Baltimore.

"The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s most vital hubs for commerce, and it plays a crucial role in national supply chains," the lawmakers said in a statement. “Considering the importance of the Port of Baltimore's function in the local, state, national, and global economies, the lawmakers requested a response from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick… within the next 14 days.”

Nationally, of the $144.9 billion in exports in 2023, $125 billion was for products grown, produced or manufactured domestically, and the remainder was for foreign goods re-exported to China, according to the U.S.-China Business Council report,

More than 931,000 U.S. jobs are supported by exports to China, outnumbering those supported by the next two Asian markets combined, the report said. Agriculture and livestock exports to China support more U.S. jobs than any other sector by a wide margin.

The report noted that U.S. exports to China dropped by 4.3 percent in 2023 due to stunted economic growth in China, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and strained U.S.-China relationships, as well as long-standing barriers such as tariffs. Soybeans, other oilseeds, and grains fell by $7 billion.

“Challenges in that sector worsen if other producers continue to become more competitive or if these products are targeted in a future tariff spat,” the report said.

Exports of semiconductors have also fallen by several billion dollars, or 52 percent since the peak in 2021. Oregon was among the hardest hit states by the national decline in this category.

The full 2024 report on U.S. exports to China is available online.