Trade
Trump to send second round of tariff payments to farmers by year end
With no end in sight for the trade war, the Trump administration will begin a second, multibillion-dollar round of payments to soybean, cotton, pork, dairy, sorghum, wheat and corn producers by December, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday. The administration does not plan a 2019 bailout.
Recipients of Trump tariff payments may include two senators
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Montana Sen. Jon Tester are among farmers who applied for Trump tariff payments, reported the Washington Post. The senators were the only lawmakers to tell the newspaper that they would seek payments; 12 said they would not apply and 13 declined to comment or had not responded to the query.
Trump orders tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports
With a warning against retaliation that targets "our farmers or other industries," President Trump ordered a new wave of tariffs on Chinese products, this time on $200 billion of goods that will face a 10 percent duty initially and rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1. "Once again, I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices," said Trump, suggesting he and Chinese President Xi Jinping could end the trade war through face-to-face negotiations.
Administration optimistic on Canada, less so on China, say ag leaders
On Wednesday, three state Farm Bureau presidents told administration leaders, including President Trump, that farmers, hit hard by retaliatory tariffs, need open markets soon. “There’s a fairly short runway,” said South Dakota’s Scott VanderWal.
China trips soybeans, corn wins race for top U.S. crop
A year after making soybeans the most widely grown crop in the country, U.S. farmers will make corn king again, driven by trade war with China and a burdensome soy stockpile, said the FAPRI think tank at the University of Missouri. "China's tariffs will reduce U.S. soybean exports," said FAPRI. The research group expects farmers will slash soybean plantings by 5.5 percent in 2019 in the face of the lowest market price in 12 years.
Two sides of Washington: Trump bailout and China tariffs
The Trump administration will hear hours of testimony about its proposed 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products on Monday, overlapping with the expected USDA announcement of up to $12 billion in aid for U.S. agriculture to offset the impact of Chinese tariffs on farm exports. Soybean growers are likely to get the largest share of the spending since the oilseed is the largest ag export to China.
Canada expects to be back soon at NAFTA negotiations
The three-corner negotiations for the new NAFTA have looked bilateral for a few weeks, because the United States has been meeting with Mexico. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada expects to return to the talks very soon. Agriculture has been a stubborn and often over-looked issue for the nations. The Trump administration reportedly dropped a proposal for seasonal restrictions on imports of Mexican produce.
Most farmers expect lower income because of trade war
Seven of 10 farmers participating in a Purdue poll said they expect lower net income this year due to the tit-for-tat tariff war - a dour outlook that pulled down the monthly Ag Economy Barometer to its lowest reading since President Trump was elected in November 2016. The 26-point drop wiped out the remnants of "Trump bump" agricultural euphoria that propelled the barometer to a record high as Trump took office.
With trade war, farmer support for Trump erodes sharply
One in seven of the farmers who voted for President Trump in 2016 would not vote for him today, according to a poll released on Monday. The escalating trade war was leading cause of erosion of support for Trump among a staunchly Republican group. But a majority still support him: 60 percent would vote for him now vs. 75 percent in 2016.
Researchers say China can cut soybean imports
Hogs and chickens can be raised successfully on low-protein rations if amino acids are added to their feed at particular stages of their growth, according to research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As a result, China, the world's largest importer of soybeans which is also in a trade war with the United States, could reduce its use of the oilseed by 5-7 percent, said the Xinhua news agency.
Slow going on trade, no aid for small business, says Lighthizer
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators on Thursday that “hopefully, we are in the finishing stages” of negotiating the new NAFTA. At the same time, he said Japan is balking at writing a trade agreement with the United States and the administration has yet to start talks with other Pacific Rim nations as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Trump to visit farm country as trade war looms
With a visit to corn-and-pork-producing Iowa on Thursday, President Trump will have a chance to speak directly to farmers, a loyal block of supporters who have grown increasingly worried about the impact of Trump tariffs on their wallets. Farm groups have suggested repeatedly the administration find alternatives to tariffs for settling trade disputes but they have been willing to give the president time to show results.
As tariffs pressure crop prices, farmers lean on bankers
For three decades, the cycle was predictable for agricultural bankers: Farmers would use money from the sale of crops harvested in the fall to pay down their debts during the winter. But this year broke the pattern. Farm debt increased during the first quarter, said the Federal Reserve in a report that pointed to trade disputes and burdensome crop stockpiles as the likely causes.
Loyalty leavens Farm Belt concern over ag tariffs, say senators
President Trump enjoys an unusual amount of tolerance from the farmers and ranchers who are the targets of retaliatory tariffs by U.S. trading partners, said Republican senators on Tuesday. "They're clearly concerned, as I am," said Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt. "It's hard to win a trade war."
Despite big sales, Trump says it’s ‘impossible’ to sell U.S. ag in Europe
The European Union is the fifth-largest customer for U.S. farm exports but it is "impossible for our farmers and workers and companies to do business in Europe," said President Trump on social media on Tuesday.
Trade war could cut U.S. farm exports to China by 40 percent
Chinese economists say Beijing is likely to turn to shipments from friendly nations and encourage domestic farm production if there is a rupture in agricultural trade with the United States, said AgriCensus, based in London.
No pain, no gain in trade dispute with China, says Ross
Negotiations didn’t work, so the Trump administration is relying on the economic discomfort of tariffs to force China to change its trade practices, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday. Farm-state senators say there is a risk of the long-term loss of export markets as the dispute escalates.
Farm groups see added risk, and no escape, as U.S.-China dispute escalates
Commodity prices are falling in the wake of President Trump’s threat of round after round of tariffs on China, and on Tuesday, groups representing wheat and soybean growers warned that the White House is making trouble for U.S. agriculture with its aggressive tactics.