Soy
Producers Remind Administration:
We Are Affected by Trade Tariffs
By FBWorld Team
Soybean
farmers who would bear the brunt of retaliatory tariffs from
China are appealing to the Administration on social media today,
reminding leaders that they are the faces behind the escalating
trade conflict between the U.S. and our largest foreign customer.
On
July 6, U.S. soybean farmers will be hit with a 25 percent duty
on beans exported to China. President Trump officially announced
on June 15 that the U.S. will implement 25 percent tariffs on
an initial list of $34 billion worth of Chinese products under
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective July 6. China
swiftly responded in kind, announcing a retaliatory 25 percent
tariff on $34 billion of U.S. imports, also effective July 6,
and which does include soybeans.
American
Soybean Association (ASA) President John Heisdorffer, a soybean
producer from Keota, Iowa, commented on being caught in the
middle of the trade confrontation between the U.S. and China,
saying, "It is imperative that we maintain the robust market
we have worked so hard for decades to establish with China.
China is our top market, importing 31 percent of our crop last
year. They have a sizeable feed industry that's dependent on
soybeans, the largest swine herd in the world, the largest global
aquaculture industry, and are rapidly modernizing their poultry,
egg, dairy, and beef industries. They are a vital trading partner,
and we need to continue to do business with China without the
sting of these tariffs."
Farmer
members of ASA have taken to Twitter and Facebook in an effort
to put faces to their plight, posting pictures on the farm with
the hashtag #FacesofTariffs,
and asking the Administration to find an alternate solution
to concerns over intellectual property theft, which has been
cited by the President as the impetus for the tariffs.
China
is the top export market for U.S. soybeans, accounting for almost
$14 billion in sales, representing nearly a third of total U.S.
soybean production in 2017.