


U.S. farmers picking up tab as Trump fuels feud with China

While the new U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade deal brought some signs of relief to American farmers, most of the heartland economy is still suffering from the blow of Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
April Hemmes, who grows soybeans and corn on 1,000 acres in Iowa, locked in prices for half of her soy crop between March and June because of the “rumblings of tariffs.” Then, China’s retaliatory duties hit in July. Now, as harvesting gets underway, the cash offers she’s seeing have dropped below her cost of production.
Hemmes isn’t alone. Across the U.S. farming world, producers are feeling the bite of the trade war, with everything from apricots to sorghum targeted by retaliatory tariffs. The dispute has exacerbated the impact of years-long low prices amid a glut of crops. Farmer profits will drop 13 percent this year to $65.7 billion, the government predicts, leaving growers more dependent on aid.
Here’s a look at some of the ways farmers are suffering:
Demand from China, which is looking for soybeans from everywhere but the U.S., has already driven up premiums for shipments from Brazil. In the meantime, American prices tumbled, and in many areas, cash prices have fallen below where futures are trading.
Cash sorghum prices have tumbled at Midwest elevators and ports in the Gulf of Mexico in recent months because of the trade tensions.
The Trump administration has looked to soften the tariff blow for farmers, with the pledge of about $12 billion in aid. But farmers like Hemmes of Iowa have maintained a steady mantra: “We’d rather have trade than aid,” she said.
“What scares me is that we worked for 35 years to get that China market, and then it’s gone,” said Hemmes, who’s also on the board of directors for the Iowa Soybean Association. “Markets don’t come back. Just to know that we worked for all those years, and then to have it gone, is frustrating to me.”