Key agricultural trade associations praised the Trump administration Tuesday for providing $12 billion to support farmers hurt by an ongoing trade war, but urged the administration to dial back that fight.
“We are grateful for the administration’s recognition that farmers and ranchers needed positive news now and this will buy us some time. This announcement is substantial, but we cannot overstate the dire consequences that farmers and ranchers are facing in relation to lost export markets. Our emphasis continues to be on trade and restoring markets, and we will continue to push for a swift and sure end to the trade war and the tariffs impacting American agriculture,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
[Opinion: American farmers are the real losers of Trump’s trade war]
Americans for Farmers & Families, an industry coalition group created to protect the North American Free Trade Agreement, said its members would have preferred not to need the assistance in the first place. “Rather than accepting retaliatory tariffs and seeking to offset them with federal assistance, America’s producers believe the administration should look toward solutions that will enable them to export their homegrown goods to critical markets around the globe,” said AFF spokesman Casey Guernsey.
The White House announced $12 billion in emergency aid to U.S. farms to help them cope with the retaliatory tariffs other countries have imposed in response to President Trump’s tariffs on imports from China, Europe, and others. The aid will be provided through the Agriculture Department’s Commodity Credit Corporation, which provides price supports for farmers.
“This is a short-term solution to allow President Trump time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the entire U.S. economy,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said. “The president promised to have the back of every American farmer and rancher, and he knows the importance of keeping our rural economy strong.”
Among U.S. industries, agriculture has been the least interested in the administration’s push to renegotiate trade deals, and most trade groups viewing existing deals like NAFTA as unqualified successes.
The White House has nevertheless taken an aggressive posture and farmers have thus far taken the brunt of the fight, a fact Perdue conceded in Tuesday’s announcement. “Unfortunately, America’s hard-working agricultural producers have been treated unfairly by China’s illegal trading practices and have taken a disproportionate hit when it comes illegal retaliatory tariffs,” he said.
On July 6, China placed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of U.S. goods including soybeans, pork and chicken, among other items in response to new U.S. tariffs against the country. The administration has also sought to renegotiate the NAFTA deal, pressuring its Mexican and Canadian counterparts to make concessions. The talks have been stalled since May and the U.S. subsequently included the countries in its new steel and aluminum tariffs to further pressure them.
Last month, Mexico imposed tariffs against $3 billion of US products including pork, apples, and potatoes. On July 1, Mexico has elected a new president, Andres Obrador, who has promoted Mexico becoming less dependent on agricultural imports.
The USDA noted there was evidence the agriculture industry was being hurt in other ways too, pointing to “evidence that American goods shipped overseas are being slowed from reaching market by unusually strict or cumbersome entry procedures, which can affect the quality and marketability of perishable crops.”
