Farm groups worry their industry will be caught in the crosshairs of a trade war
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The United States has moved ahead with tariffs on Chinese goods.
President Trump announced his administration is placing 25 percent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of Chinese products as of today. The tariffs are in response to “China’s theft of intellectual property and technology” and other “unfair trade practices,” he said in a statement today.
The U.S. will implement further levies if China issues retaliatory tariffs, he added.
In response, China as of today placed 25 percent charges on US$50 billion worth of American products.
“We will immediately introduce taxation measures of the same scale and strength,” a statement from China’s commerce ministry said.
Producers are concerned they will suffer in this trade war.
China’s list of taxable items includes U.S. soybeans. Last year, America exported about US$14 billion worth of its crop to China.
Today, soybean prices dropped about 10 cents per bushel in light of the tariff announcement.
That kind of market movement hurts producers in an already difficult time, the American Soybean Association (ASA) said.
“Crop prices have dropped 40 percent in the last five years, and farm income is down 50 percent compared to 2013,” Davie Stephens, vice-president of the ASA, said in a statement today. China “is a vital and robust market that soy growers have spent over 40 years building and, frankly, it’s not a market U.S. soybean farmers can afford to lose.”
A trade war not only hurts American farmers but it also benefits competitors.
“When American soybeans and corn become more expensive, South America wins,” Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, said in a statement today. “When beef becomes more expensive, Australia wins. As this trade war drags on, farmers will rightly question why our competitors are winning while we’re losing.”
The American ag industry is taking to social media to express its concern for the looming trade war.
Farmers and farm organizations are posting messages using the hashtag #TradeNotTariffs.
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