Economics

Fruit Fight in Chile Reveals Hidden Ripples From U.S.-China Trade War

  • Chile forced to look for new markets in Southeast Asia
  • ‘The trade war is affecting the healthy flow of goods’
U.S. Team Heads to China for Trade Talks in January
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The Trump trade war with China and a late-blooming bumper crop in the U.S. are combining to curb the amount of fresh table grapes imported from Chile when the weather turns cold.

That’s forcing the South American country to look to Asia to sell off its fruit in the latest example of an unexpected market getting caught up in the U.S.-China spat. California grapes get harvested into the fall, but in December -- as those supplies dissipate -- the U.S. turns to Chile for fresh fruit.