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

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war puts about $3.6 billion in exports and 26,530 jobs on the line for Minnesota 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.

China is Minnesota’s second-largest goods export market, accounting for $3.6 billion in exports in 2023, or 13 percent of the state’s global goods exports.

Trade with China supports tens of thousands of Minnesota jobs, particularly through exports of oilseeds, medical instruments, and educational services.

Minnesota’s top 5 goods exported to China in 2023:

1. Oilseeds and grains – $1.4 billion
2. Navigational and measuring instruments – $401 million
3. General purpose machinery – $344 million
4. Pharmaceuticals and medicines – $250 million
5. Semiconductors and components – $199 million

Other top exports from Minnesota to China include medical equipment, meat products, resins and synthetic fibers, industrial machinery, and plastic products.

Nationwide

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.