Overall, the nation’s farmers shipped nearly $20 billion of goods to China in 2017. The American pork industry sent $1.1 billion in products, making China the No. 3 market for U.S. pork.
The president with irritable vile syndrome strikes (out?) again.
“No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers and the consumers,” said National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl, a pig farmer from Johnstown, Ohio.
Hey, it’s all good. Hope Council President Heimerl realizes that this is the price to be paid for MAGA. Or did he think it would come for free?
At least Trump consulted with economic experts before rushing into some stupid decision, as he’s always careful to do.
MAGA so much winning.
U.S. DOLLAR INDEX INDEX
89.48 -0.33 (-0.37%) Official Close 3/23/2018
“Vice Premier Liu He told Mnuchin in a phone call that the order Trump signed Thursday violates international trade rules, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.”
And that’s what opponents of Trump’s tariffs fear: that the Chinese – for all the concerns about their cheating on international trade agreements, their reliance on state-supported industries, and their history of dumping products on the world market to undercut competitors – will address Trump’s tariffs by the book and through proper channels.
They are expected to file complaints to the WTO and postpone official targeted actions against the US until a ruling is issued. If they go this route they will capture the high ground in this dispute.
Trump, by contrast, is likely to alienate our trading partners and allies. He has already roiled the markets with his rash, ill-conceived unilateral actions. He has already enabled the Chinese to assume the mantle of leadership on free trade.
Something tells me we are due for a beat-down on this issue.
Yes, well, that’s not the only one.
While Trump is likely to lose his ill-advised (or advice-free) trade war with China, the fact remains that he is also moving toward an ill-advised shooting war with North Korea and/or Iran, which, on the basis of past performance, he is also likely to lose. After all, he knows more than “his” generals do. I remember what happened to the last guy who knew more than his generals. Not sure we can wait five years for Trump to commit suicide in his bunker.
I’ve made commentary about this in other threads but will again.
There is a direct correlation between the “rust belt” and the plight of those in much of what used to be the Middle Class, and it is of course China.
If we do not address China’s Mercantilism and outright theft, then the rise of trumpism will only get worse.
And I realize that some of my suggestions will not come to pass, but here is a couple: a embargo of China’s steel exports to all the Advanced Economies; not tariffs; a cutback of Boeing purchases unless they pull out completely from any outsourcing to China.
We’ll have to see what ultimate impact this has on both pork and corn prices. Farmers are probably going to get screwed out of a great deal of money. This should be an issue pushed hard by challengers of congress critters like Steve King and other rural GOPers. They may voice their opposition to the tariffs but they have done nothing legislatively to prevent them.
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“On Friday, American farmers from hog producers in Iowa to apple growers in Washington state and winemakers in California expressed deep disappointment over being put in the middle of a potential trade war with China by the president many of them helped elect.”
Yet again it must be said…
”I never thought they’d eat MY face!” says person voting for the ‘Leopard’s Eating Your Face’ Party”
How many times do we have to hear this kind of crap from Trump supporters before we’re no longer admonished for pointing and laughing at them.
I love the squealing coming from Trump country. hahahahahahahaha I hope they all go broke.
Looks it.
But it also looks as though we’ll have a hahd ciduh glut to go with, so drowning our sorrows will at least be affordable.
It occurs to me excess apples could be used for fuel ethanol. Corn farmers may not be too happy, but tortilla makers would be.