The agriculture industry is urging the Trump administration to find a way out of its tariff fight with China, dreading the prospect of a trade war bad enough that it would require the White House to help farmers.
President Trump has tried to reassure the agriculture industry that the administration would step in and protect it should China follow through with its threats of tariffs on products such as beef and soybeans. But many in the industry are skeptical that the White House could effectively counter the economic hit.
In comments before a Cabinet meeting Monday, Trump said U.S. growers likely would be hit hardest if Beijing goes forward with the retaliatory tariffs it has promised in response to the administration’s proposed $150 billion tariffs against Chinese goods. “We’ll make it up to them,” Trump said of the farmers, adding, “And in the end, they’re going to be much stronger than they are right now.”
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said the administration would step in to protect the industry. “We’re discussing that right now, but I’m not at liberty to talk about those kinds of things from a mitigation perspective,” he told the online news site Pro Farmer. A representative for the USDA could not be reached for comment.
Industry officials speaking anonymously told the Washington Examiner that they dread even contemplating that scenario. The consensus was that the amount of money that would be required to counter the harm of the tariffs “could be really enormous,” in the words of one. And that raised the question of whether the administration would even be able to come up with enough money. Instead, they called on the administration to work things out with China.
China threatened penalties last week on numerous items including 25 percent on U.S. beef, soybeans, cotton, and pork, and 15 percent on fruit and other commodities, in reaction to Trump’s tariff threats. The choices are widely seen as efforts to inflict the maximum amount of pain on the U.S. in response to White House threats to hit China with tariffs on steel and aluminum. The administration says China coerces U.S. companies into giving it technology.
The American Soybean Association said farmers lost $1.7 billion in value for their crop in one day after China announced the potential tariffs.
In a speech early Tuesday morning in the eastern coastal city of Boao, Chinese president Xi Jinping promised a “new phase of opening up” for foreign companies, comments that were widely interpreted as softening its stance on a potential trade war. The White House, however, reacted coolly. “The president appreciates President Xi’s kind words but we want to see more than just words. We want to see action,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
