Potential Trade War a Threat to 2018’s Agricultural Outlook
April 9, 2018 It seems like only yesterday I was at the 2018 Commodity Classic show in Anaheim, CA, waiting to hear current Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue speak. All around me were soybean and corn growers, wearing “Farmers for NAFTA” (short for the North American Free Trade Agreement) buttons, anxious to hear how Perdue would address rumors that the President Donald Trump administration would nix this long-standing trade agreement. He quickly put these fears to rest.
“Hear me clearly, all of you: I have not and will not support any policies that undermine demand and are harmful to our agricultural producers,” said Perdue, to thunderous applause.
Now, just over one month later, another potential trade dispute has emerged, this one pitting China against the U.S. In the bluster between both countries and tariff increases, agricultural products such as pork and soybeans are being mentioned as possible targets in this fight. In theory, this threatens to dispute an important source of income for U.S. grower-customers, who collectively shipped more than $22 billion worth of goods to China during 2017.
Loading ...Since this tariff talk has heated up, Perdue has once again tried to reassure the nation’s agricultural producers that President Trump will not let them become “casualties if this trade dispute escalates.” However, he warned it could force lawmakers to alter their plans for the 2018 Farm Bill.
“While we look to the Farm Bill to have a safety net, it has to be taken in the context of current events, and that would be the trade disputes that are ongoing,” he said.
Obviously, the entire agricultural industry will be closely watching all the moves out of Washington, DC, and Beijing over the next few months as the 2018 growing season gets into full swing . . .
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