[AngryData]

I hate to say it but tariffing their own food supply is not a tenable position. Granted they likely have some pretty fucking large stockpiles of foodstuffs and grains, but they are still very dependent on US agriculture, especially in concerns for their beef production which is super expensive there. They don't have the land to grow alfalfa and grass for their cows, but they do have large empty cargo ships regularly sitting in US ports that we normally pack to the brim with grass for a few extra pennies.

[Latteland]

But there are lots of other places in the world to buy foodstuffs like the US sells them. Is there a reason they can't just buy from Europe or Australia or whatever?

[lovich]

Only if they can up their production to match what the US was selling them. The US is a very large food exporter although the EU looks like it does more in aggregate[1]. There big problem will be if the prices rise, does it cause unrest in their populace. People will grumble if their IPhone gets more expensive or jobs are lost. Riots start when food starts getting scarce

[1]https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-american-food-giant-...

[seanmcdirmid]

I don’t think the USA is a crucial food exporter to any market except maybe Mexico. Yes, we export lots of fruits, nuts, and animal feed, but none of this is going to be missed very much. It’s not like Thailand cutting off rice exports.

[lovich]

The USA is a food exporting powerhouse. We are not #1 in every market but we are in the top 5 of every major grain I can think of.

some examples

Wheat-http://www.worldstopexports.com/wheat-exports-country/

Corn-http://www.worldstopexports.com/corn-exports-country/

Rice-http://www.worldstopexports.com/rice-exports-country/

[seanmcdirmid]

But no one really depends on us. A lot of what we export is used as animal feed.

[lovich]

animal feed is used to make more animals which humans eat. Im not saying I know that this would affect China for sure, but you cant take a major producer out of a market or increase their price substantially and expect no effect