04/21/2025
The loss of China as an export market will deal a particularly hard economic blow to agricultural workers in many red states, hitting many of the voters who helped Mr. Trump win the presidential election. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump ratcheted U.S. tariffs on China even higher as he initiated a pause on “reciprocal” tariffs that he had imposed on other countries. The reprieve offers little relief for farmers who are concerned that a protracted trade war with China will cut off ties with their largest export market.
The first trade war with China, which lasted from 2018 to 2019, resulted in billions of dollars of lost revenue for American farmers. To help offset the losses, Mr. Trump handed out $23 billion in subsidies from a fund that the Department of Agriculture created to stabilize the farm sector. Large farm operations and farmers in the South benefited the most, fueling concerns about fairness and leaving some farmers feeling cheated.
The soybean industry is one of the sectors most concerned about the current tariff retaliation. China is America’s largest soybean export market, but when Mr. Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods during his first term, Beijing retaliated by buying soybeans from other countries, including Brazil.
“If this lasts long term, we’re going to have a significant number of farmers going out of business,” said Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer who is president of the American Soybean Association. “We still bear scars from the last trade war.”
The American Soybean Association has been urging the Trump administration to strike a new trade deal with China to avoid a long-term trade war.
Source: NYT