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

ILLINOIS — President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war puts about $5.9 million in exports of goods and $2.4 billion in services, along with 53,720 jobs on the line for Illinois 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.

Illinois ranks No. 1 in the United States in soybean production, with an estimated 683 million bushels being produced in 2021.

"Trump's tariffs are not a plan — just more economic chaos with a side of higher costs, especially for farmers and middle-class Americans," Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said last week.

Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) said Tuesday on social media, "Trump's trade war and tariff tax are a FIVE ALARM FIRE for hardworking families. I joined @DadsCaucus today to talk about why families are panicked about Trump’s tariff chaos."

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.