AGRICULTURE/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Trade deficits aren’t a concern for America’s farmers … but you wouldn’t know it from what President Donald Trump has been saying. The US agriculture industry has long exported far more products than the nation has imported. Selling crops, nuts, meat and other goods abroad are vital part of the sector, with more than 20% of agricultural production sent abroad. That has led to a trade surplus, which totaled $20.3 billion in fiscal 2017 and is projected to grow to $22.5 billion in this fiscal year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Trump, however, has repeatedly said that American farmers are suffering under bad trade deals with other countries. His solution to help them and other industries? Slap tariffs on imports, which has prompted other countries to retaliate by doing the same to American products. China has since added a 25% tariff to soybeans, on top of the existing 3% levy. Its tariffs on pork are now 70%, rather than the previous 20%, said Veronica Nigh, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, an industry group. Trump’s moves are threatening to disrupt the industry’s trade balance. Prices are falling, and exports are dropping, experts say. Other countries are looking to move in on American farmers’ turf.”
–Tami Luhby, “American farmers enjoy a trade surplus. Trump could wipe it out,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 26, 2018 3:39 pm