The voices of our farmers must be heard, and we must demand this trade war to end, or our agricultural economy will be undone.
By Nichole Shaw
If you haven’t heard about President Donald Trump’s so-called trade war with China, it’s time to listen. In June, Trump created an expensive and economically taxing trade war by imposing tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States.
According to the Financial Times, “China is by far the largest export market for American soybean farmers, eight times larger than Mexico, the second biggest buyer. Of a total of $22 billion in U.S. soybean exports last year, about 56 per cent went to China. U.S. soybeans exports to China are worth the same as the next 10 export products on the tariff list combined.”
Before you go off thinking that this “war” seems far-fetched and doesn’t affect you or any of your fellow Iowans, think again. Iowa soybean farmers are being put at high risk for financial burdens they cannot overcome because of China’s retaliation on American agricultural products — which includes soybeans. The U.S. Soybean Association says China serves as the most important market for American soybean exports. With this trade war, Iowa farmers’ losses will be astonishing, and agriculture will take a catastrophic hit.
According to the United Soybean Board, “U.S. soybean farmers exported a record 2.6 billion bushels of U.S. soy and soy products, valued at over $28 billion [in 2016]. It marked the second year in a row that exports exceeded 60 percent of U.S. soybean production.” Trump’s and his administration’s fear of the U.S.-China trade imbalance is foolish because it puts the American agricultural market and our beloved farmers at risk.
What is being demanded of China is outlandish and unreasonable. Trump’s tariffs will only result in the disappointing collapse of our economy.
Martin Wolf, the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, writes, “The demand that China have exactly the same tariffs as the U.S. is almost as ridiculous [as the U.S. call for reduction of bilateral deficits, which would require China to take control over the economy, which is exactly the opposite of what the U.S. wants]. There is no economic case for such a policy … the idea that the U.S. will be judge, jury, and executioner, while China will be deprived of the rights to retaliate or seek recourse to the WTO is crazy. No great sovereign power could accept such a humiliation. For China, it would be a modern version of the ‘unequal treaties’ of the 19th century.”
Trump’s assumption that China and U.S. trade should be on a balanced scale is unattainable. China has too much economic power and the U.S. will ultimately suffer the most from this trade war; it will do nothing but harm our economy, our agriculture, and our struggling farmers.
Our noble farmers will not go down without a fight. David Weaver has decided to run for Iowa House District 47 seat and has received media attention for his brave and admirable fight to help Iowa farmers. He was pushed to run because of his family’s involvement in Iowa politics, but what really persuaded him to run was his disappointment in the 2017 legislative session at the Iowa Statehouse.
In an email to the DI, Weaver wrote, “The frustration in the tariffs that have been recently established is that organizations like the Iowa Soybean Association have been sending trade delegations to China and other countries for years to establish good relations and market products like soybeans. I personally believe in free trade and open and transparent markets, so in this particular case, we farmers are left at the mercy of the Trump administration … I believe in representative government, and my goal is to listen to the people in the district.”
It is clear that this trade war must come to an end. The abrupt and indefinite demands of China and threatening tariffs will do more to harm people at home than the Chinese economy. Countless farmers will suffer at the hands of our own president.
It’s time to listen to our farmers and vote for what’s right.
America needs more farmers.
