Trade Tensions Continue

U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary Sonny Perdue said he understands farmers are anxious about the pressure created by tariffs on U.S. exports. Still, he said, the Trump administration’s tough tactics will lead to more protection for U.S. economic and intellectual property interests overseas. In the meantime:

• The American Soybean Association says soybean prices have dropped by about $2 a bushel, or 20 percent.
• U.S. dairy farmers will see incomes slide an estimated $1.5 billion this year.
• U.S. farm income is expected to drop 13 percent in 2018.
• Duties levied on U.S. pork are expected to exact a $2 billion toll on pork producers.

“This is a world upside down for sure,” said Soren Schroder, CEO of Bunge, Ltd., a crop-trading company. “I don’t think we’ll be in a good situation unless we find a solution relatively quickly.”

Source: Wall Street Journal