The agricultural industry has many complaints about trade.
The National Council of Pork Producers says the European Union is putting the US pork industry at a disadvantage. The Council is not very happy with Ecuador-Brazil's trade practices.
The US Poultry and Egg Export Council is unhappy with India. Citing the country's 100% tariffs, it notes that India has only imported US chicken parts worth $255,000 since 2018.
But neither organization is a fan of the unsolved tariffs that “it is likely to lead to retaliation and harm,” as the Pork Council said in a statement to the office of US Trade Representatives.
This is the balance that the industry has tried to attack since Donald J. Trump took office for the second time and wielding a big tariff stick around. He soon signed an executive order placing tariffs on goods coming to the country from Mexico, Canada and China. Mexico and Canada have received a temporary reprieve, but President Trump has said there will be more tariffs coming next month.
His actions put us in a tough position. Most farmers are cautious and opposed to customs duties. The US agricultural export revenues were $191 billion last year, according to the Department of Agriculture. The group believes that retaliatory tariffs are harming the industry, just as China has imposed on agricultural products such as chicken, pork and soybeans as they are causing tariffs to increase prices for farmers, exporters and consumers.
But they also know that publicly opposed to this administration means they never win an audience with it. And they hope that, in addition to the negative effects, the Trump administration's trade war is volatile and will help address several long-standing complaints about the trade practices of countries around the world with tariffs announced to be withdrawn or revised in a day.
“U.S. Dairy is grateful for the Trump administration's efforts to keep Canada accountable for these protectionist measures,” the International Dairy Farmers Association said in a statement that for a long time Canada has been complaining about granting dairy farmers and abuses the tariff quota system. “At the same time, the long-term tariff war with our top trading partners will continue to create uncertainty and additional costs for American dairy farmers, processors and rural communities.”
Many other industry groups employ jobs similar to the Dairy Association. Last month, the US Trade Representative asked interested groups about their complaints to “help other countries review and identify unfair trade practices.”
From Christmas tree farms to shrimp and powerful National Association of Corn Producers, over 700 public comments have been created within three weeks, including dozens of agricultural industries. Collectively, they believe that more than 70 countries believe they are violating trade agreements, or otherwise trading unfairly.
The California Wine Grape Growers Association believes it's unfair to enter Chilean wines that do not have US tariffs, but American wines are taxed in Chile. American Potato Trade Aliance does not like American frozen fries and dehydrated potato products to be subject to 30% tariffs in Thailand, but the same products in other countries are tax-free.
The soybean industry represents the challenges and opportunities facing the agriculture industry. About half of American soybean exports go to China, with Jim Sutter, chief executive of the US Soybean Export Council, saying that US and Chinese officials are coming to the negotiation table and hope that “no one really wins” will avoid a long trade war. Earlier this month, China imposed a 10% tariff on American soybean imports.
But Sutter added that he is also seeing the imposition of mutual tariffs, the equivalent collections that other countries charge, as a “interesting opportunity” to launch new trade deals. “Our leadership had another way of trying to engage with other countries,” he said.
Sutter has experienced this result. In 2017, more than $12 billion in US soybeans were exported to China. In 2018, when then-President Trump engaged in a trade war with the country, the amount fell to just $3 billion. Two years later, the US and China ended their discord with a new trade deal.
“I think that agreement was an improvement in our previous location,” Sutter said.
However, despite new and improved agreements, the US soy industry still feels the impact of the 2018 trade war. China turns to Brazil, and as a result, our share of soybean exports is below the level in 2017, while Brazilian soybean imports are increasing rapidly. Investments from both China and Brazil have forever increased their competitiveness with American soybeans by bringing Brazilian soybeans to China.
Darci Better, the leading agricultural negotiator for US trade representatives during the Obama administration, said it was important to address the issue of trade agreements. If the US is looking to consider major trade agreements, industry groups want to make sure the Trump administration is aware of their complaints.
However, she warned that if industry groups were to fall aside to the list of “stimulants,” they risked losing significant profits from trade.
“One of the surprising things about the US is the vast variety of crops we can grow given the geographical diversity and the amount of fertile land we have,” she said. “Therefore, both the breadth and depth of AG trade relations are very noteworthy, both north and south.”
