President-elect Trump’s vow to impose stiff import tariffs that sparked trade wars in his first administration, has ag Republicans trying to qualify their opposition this time around. Farmers suffered big losses to trade retaliation from Trump’s earlier trade war mainly with China, one that cost the CCC some 28 (B) billion in offsets to producers.
But with the GOP election sweep led by Trump and his command of the party, ag lawmakers like North Dakota Senator John Hoeven are now “threading the needle” on tariffs. “With the tariffs, it’s going to be really important how they’re used,” says Senator Hoeven. “We want free trade to the extent possible, but we want it to be fair.”
Hoeven, the top Republican on Senate Ag appropriations, added “If those tariffs are used in a targeted way that helps us export and forces these other countries to play fair, then I think you’ll see…” (Reporter) “But the president’s talking about universal…he’s talking about universal tariffs….and 60-percent on China.” (Hoeven) “I think you’ve got to see what it looks like. But again, how you use it is going to be a real factor.”
President-elect Trump says he loves tariffs and wants to generate trillions of dollars from them to run the government and cut taxes and the deficit, while farmers and others see ‘red’ from retaliation.
Another GOP ag senator, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, is also “threading the needle” on tariffs. “I just wish he would use a different term than tariffs,” said Senator Grassley. ?We have them in law in the United States, already…they’re called countervailing duties…and countervailing duties are meant to level the playing field for some country, including China, that might subsidize a product coming to the United States.”
Story by Matt Kaye, Berns Bureau Washington; courtesy of NAFB News Service
