For advocates of free trade, President Trump’s policies have taken a marked turn for the worse in 2018. Perhaps it was inevitable that the president would give in to his worst protectionist impulses. But with tensions now rising between Washington and Beijing, and with American farmers and ranchers increasingly caught in the crossfire, the administration’s attempts to buy the domestic agriculture industry’s acquiescence are especially odious.

The administration’s protectionist turn started in late January, when the president levied discretionary tariffs on solar panels and washing machines. Understanding that agriculture is America’s biggest export to China and a key constituency of the president’s political base, Beijing responded with tariffs on American sorghum.