AFBF Calling For Trade Deal With China

Trade, not Aid.

That remains the battle cry from American farmers, following the announcement of an escalation in the trade war with China.  In response to Monday’s announcement by China of additional retaliatory tariffs against American products, President Trump is seeking more assistance for impacted producers.  Monday, he called for $15 billion in Market Facilitation Payments; this is in addition to the already $12 billion of aid to help farmers impacted during the trade war.

While the funds may help in the short-term, American Farm Bureau officials say aid will never make up for the cost of lost markets.

“Farmers would prefer to get back to the situation where we had trade," AFB’s Dave Salmonsen said.  "We could move beyond the tariffs.  I think everyone was very interested and hopeful and, a lot of the messaging was very confident that we would see a trade deal with China; and we still may.”

The retaliatory tariffs announced Monday by China raise earlier tariffs on some farm goods to up to 25%.

“…things like honey, live plants, peas, sweet corn, coffee and tea, potato products, a lot of vegetable oil products, prepared foods,” Salmonsen noted.

The new tariffs may take up to two-weeks to hit goods still in transit, leaving a bit more time to reach a trade deal.  Still, U.S. farm income is depressed, bankruptcies up, and existing tariffs continue to punish farmers in lost Chinese purchases and higher farm equipment costs from metals tariffs.

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