Ag Economist: Administration’s Stance On Trade Has Done Long-Term Harm

The severity varies commodity to commodity, but most would agree there has been negative repercussions from the trade war with China and other nations.  But, has the Trump Administration’s hard ball trade stance done any harm to the Ag industry long term?

“Yes, I’m just going to be blunt," Dr. David Kohl, Ag economist at Virginia Tech, recently addressed that issue National Ag Bankers Conference.  "Now, it sounds like I’m bashing President Trump.  Did we need to do something?  Yes, whether it was NAFTA or whether it was agreements with China, it was just how it was done.  We’re going to tear up NAFTA or we’re going to impose these tariffs, and here’s the one thing; long-term this has some long lasting 5-10 year implications because trust once violated negates the relationship and we violated some of that trust.”

Many in the Ag industry hope with the USMCA signed by the three leaders of the continent, and U.S. and China agreeing to ratchet down the trade war, some of that trust can start to be rebuilt.

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