Recently, the Trump administration has proposed 25% tariffs on a possible 13,000 Chinese goods (they won’t be implemented until after a scheduled hearing on May 15).
The president has cited an unfair trade relationship with China as the cause for these tariffs. While many business advocates agree that the trade relationship is slanted, these tariffs are overly aggressive and have encouraged China to retaliate with tariffs of their own. According to CNN, “There is little dispute in the United States that China does not play by the rules when it comes to tech trade. The debate in Washington is about the best way to punish China without hurting American consumers.” If both countries tariffs pass, however, the United States and China will find themselves amid a trade war that could be detrimental to the world markets and devastating to each country’s economy.
Among China’s proposed tariffed items are soybeans. This is important because about one third of all US soybean exports are accumulated by China—that is $12.3 billion worth of soybeans. These tariffs have the potential to crumble the livelihood of farmers across rural America, especially those in Ohio, where soybeans are the biggest agricultural export. Farmers are already under extreme pressure to maintain cash flow, as global warming has induced erratic weather patterns that make it more difficult for farmers to do their job efficiently. For example, the increase in rainfall has cost farmers their assurance of fruitful harvest as excessive rainfall over short spans of time leads to water runoff, which carries away fertilizer and topsoil needed to grow the crops successfully.
Some, although not all, of these rural workers have come to realize that the Trump administration is working against their economic success, despite the fact that rural voters voted overwhelmingly in favor of Donald Trump during the 2016 election. A few agriculture organizations have publicly opposed the administration’s tariffs. The American Soybean Association (which speaks for 21,000 soybean farmers), for example, has labeled these tariffs “devastating.” The American Soybean Association’s President John Heisdorffer has reportedly called on the president and his team to withdraw the proposed tariffs, and hopes the president will meet with soybean farmers to discuss how to restore healthy competition in the world markets without playing with the income of thousands of soybean workers. Heisdorffer has stated, “That’s real money lost for farmers, and it is entirely preventable.”
If you are seeking to contact your representatives about this emerging trade war, you can find your representative here.