The Biggest Events Tariffs

It's the American people were celebrating the Independence Day with food and fireworks. While there is a news that, tariffs on products going to China have been put in place, and soybean support net futures prices have climbed 25¢. Here are three biggest events tariffs.

Trade tension between the U.S. and China has been escalating quickly since President Donald Trump first announced tariffs at the beginning of 2018. U.S. tariffs on $34 billion of goods it imports from China officially went into effect. As promised, the Chinese immediately retaliated with additional tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods imported into the country.

The U.S. may ultimately target more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods, or roughly the total amount of U.S. imports from China last year. A wide range of industry leaders and local officials expressed their concerns about the lasting damage these tit-for-tat tactics could have on the long-term trading relationship between the two countries.

The continued escalation of trade tensions with China is having a real impact on Iowa farmers and businesses. We have seen a significant drop in prices for both crops, livestock and scaffolding net and this is creating even more stress and uncertainty during what was already a difficult time for the ag economy.

Louisiana is set to be the hardest hit state from proposed tariffs overall with the vast majority of that impact coming from soybeans; not because we are a top soy-producing state, but because we are the gateway port for that product to the rest of the world, and China is the largest destination – 20% of all U.S. imports and exports pass through Louisiana ports.

According to a press statement issued by the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, agriculture is the third-largest economy on the Mississippi River and generates $33 billion in annual revenue in addition to directly supporting 192,000 jobs in the area. More than 20,000 jobs in my region are dependent on the soybean industry. Some of our farms export 100% of their soybeans. People’s livelihoods are on the line here.

American Soybean Association president and farmer John Heisdorffer was also on the call. “We have spent more than 40 years building shade net market with China, and it is not a market U.S. soybean farmers can afford to lose a market with China will be especially difficult for young and beginning farmers to overcome."