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Tariffs on China’s Imports Help Garlic Growers in the U.S.

Garlic growers who were affected by the Chinese imports are now finding it profitable after tariffs stopped garlic imports.

When President Trump hit China with his second round of tariffs, most imports from China stopped. Garlic which was illegally entering the U.S. from China also came to a stop. This has benefitted the American farmers who are growing garlic.

China which was smuggling in cheap garlic could not find any way to get them into the United States, because tariffs were applied across the board on China’s imports.

In 1990, garlic imports from China flooded the American markets. The pungent garlic that came from China was sold at below the cost of production. This made it impossible for American farmers to compete.

This practice which was known as dumping affected the U.S. garlic growers. They could not compete with the low prices.

In 1994, the U.S. placed a 377 percent duty on garlic imports from China. This was a huge increase which should have stopped imports. But China just by-passed the duty, through other means and continued to flood the U.S. markets with its cheap produce.

Earlier there were 12 major commercial garlic growers in the U.S. With cheap imports, only 3 of them were able to survive the intense competition from cheap garlic.

In the U.S. tariffs on garlic imports from China were at 10 percent in 2018. In 2019, they were raised to 25 percent.

In 1994, when a levy was made on garlic imports by the U.S., the Chinese were able to avoid the U.S. customs without being discovered. But now, the stringent tariff imposed on garlic does not allow any garlic to enter the country without being billed. This has helped the domestic garlic industry, says Ken Christopher, the largest garlic producer in the U.S., Christopher Ranch, based in California.

Garlic growers are thankful to President Trump and his tariffs.

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