Christmas Tree Growers Become Unlikely Key Stakeholders in US-China Trade Mechanism

Although the winter holiday season is still months away, Christmas trees have re-entered the limelight, entangled in the geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

As the United States and China seek to ease tensions via a newly proposed bilateral trade framework, the most outspoken participants are neither tech firms nor manufacturers, but U.S. Christmas tree farmers adamant about retaining tariffs on artificial trees imported from China.

Numerous cultivators nationwide have submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, pressing policymakers to refrain from designating artificial Christmas trees as “non-sensitive” goods that would qualify for reduced duties.

“Reducing the existing supplemental tariffs on Chinese-made artificial trees would once again subject tens of thousands of family-operated farms to predatory below-cost import pricing that has undermined their market share for twenty years,” stated Scott Powell, president of the National Christmas Tree Association and a second-generation grower in Michigan.

The disagreement arises from the proposed “Board of Trade,” a pivotal outcome of the May summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Under this proposal, the two nations would form a joint framework to govern bilateral trade encompassing US$30 billion of “non-sensitive” items that might benefit from lowered or zero tariffs.

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