Trade War Prospect Shakes Part of Trump Base: Midwest Farmers
Trade War Prospect Shakes Part of Trump Base: Midwest Farmers
Rural voters voice concern that retaliation against tariffs could take aim at American agriculture, which posts a trade surplus.
By MONICA DAVEY and PATRICIA COHENMARCH 10, 2018
“The world’s already awash in grain,” Mr. Gould said, “and then if you lose a key customer — it’s big. They’re going to go somewhere else to buy it.”
That’s a tangible threat throughout the Midwest, which accounts for roughly half the nation’s agricultural output, a prime target in any tit-for-tat response to the tariffs announced by President Trump. Unlike the rest of the economy, farms deliver a trade surplus for the United States, and a trade war could put barriers around lucrative markets.
Mr. Gould, 76, is a longtime Republican, and like a large numbers of farmers, he voted for Mr. Trump. But several of the president’s policy positions, like curtailing crop insurance, have run counter to agricultural interests — and perhaps none more than trade.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/business/economy/tariffs-farmers.html
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