Trump Has No Idea What His Tariffs Have Unleashed for Farmers

[workinclasszero]

His trade war will hurt business at a time when the rural population is aging, and it will probably hollow out farm communities.
By Robert Leonard July 26, 2018

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Today President Trump is visiting Dubuque, Iowa, where every year at harvest time, millions of tons of grain come via rail and truck to be loaded onto barges on the Mississippi River and shipped to Mexico, China and much of the rest of the world. Harvest puts coin into the hands of farmers, and they and their communities — indeed all of America — profit. Not this year.

The president is here to trumpet a $12 billion plan to aid American farmers. Why do they need aid? For Iowans, it’s because 33 percent of our economy is tied, directly or indirectly, to agriculture, and Mr. Trump recklessly opened trade wars that will hit “Trump country” — rural America — hardest and that have already brought an avalanche of losses. Indeed, the impact of his tariffs will probably be felt by family farms and the area for generations.

The cost of being shut out of overseas markets for soybeans, beef, pork, chicken and more will be in the billions. Once those markets are gone, they will be difficult to recover. Commodity prices continue to drop, and good weather suggests an excellent crop is in the making, which will drive prices further down.

Brazil is ready to step in with increased soybean production, and China has already shifted its purchasing power there.

Rural America is going to be hollowed out very quickly. Farms will become consolidated, and towns that are already in trouble will certainly die.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/opinion/trump-tariffs-trade-war-rural-america.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region

[Fred Sanders]

1. Having lived in many small farming towns, villages and hamlets surrounded by farm land,

I can personally attest to the fact that these communities will be more than hollowed out by a permanent 20% income loss on average.

In a good crop year these communities thrive, the joy is palpable, not so much in bad years, but overall they survive.

Shitler has lived in NYC all his life and played golf in luxury retreats...his ignorance in general is compounded by this specific ignorance and farmers not seeing all this are willfully blind. Few will be.

[Wellstone ruled]

27. So agree and might I add this,

most of these Farmers have just opened their Real Estate Tax Statements that are hitting their Mail Boxes this week and next. Guarantee they are getting a 3-10% increase in their Property Taxes. States have to have a Balanced Budget and to many of them gave away the store since 2016 in order to kiss the butts of their Campaign Donators at the behest of their Voters.

This might be the Straw that tips tons of Farms upside down. And those Taxes are due in November for most states.

[keithbvadu2]

35. The straw

If you always predict that this isn't the straw that will break the camel's back, you'll almost always be right but will also always miss when the straw breaks the camel's back.

[Wellstone ruled]

43. Okay.

One phone call yesterday from a Farmer Cousin was all one needed to now. He did not think he has any room left under his operating loan to cover this years Property Taxes. And this Guy is about as frugal as they come. And he votes Democratic every election.

[keithbvadu2]

44. Yep! Donald's supporters may finally be seeing the straw.

[Wellstone ruled]

45. As David said yesterday,these suckers

will not get it until the County Sheriff's Deputy comes up the Driveway. And it wont be for Coffee.

[dalton99a]

2. The traitor is literally destroying Middle America.

[workinclasszero]

9. Putin is laughing his ass off

in the Kremlin.

[machoneman]

33. Hey, maybe that's the plan! Destroy small farmers so they must sell to big ag conglomerates. Trump's

corporate supporters win!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

36. He might even see it as giving Big Ag a chance to buy lots of family farms for pennies. . . . nt

[world wide wally]

3. Isn't this what they voted for?

[workinclasszero]

11. No they voted to piss off the libs

and to make life miserable for PoC.

Gee I guess that backfired on em huh?

[oasis]

23. Vote to oppress, find yourself in a mess. nt

[Glamrock]

30. Stealing that!

[oasis]

42. If you like it, spread it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

39. RepubliCons conned them into fearing Communist Hillary (after Communist Obama). . . . nt

[mrs_p]

4. I am moving to North Dakota soon

And am very nervous how this is going to turn out (I have always lived in liberal blue areas). This is our first venture into rural red America. I hope the bastard it out soon and all these shenanigans end.

[chelsea0011]

5. Sadly it won't matter as he is about to sling bullshit there and they will buy it all up.

[haele]

6. Historically, the damage tariffs causes farmers and manufacturing last for decades.

Even moreso since now, the markets for agricultural and manufacturing are far more global than before. U.S. wheat is too expensive because of the tariffs - well, there's always Russian or Canadian wheat. U.S. soybeans too expensive - well, Brazil and Argentina have been experimenting with soybean production and are eager to sell. U.S. built cars or appliances - pretty near all the major U.S. corporations have overseas Greenfields investments, overseas factories and engineering divisions, or partnerships with foreign manufacturing. They don't need to build in the U.S. to make a profit anymore...

The countries that buy U.S. products are now going to other countries to buy the same product. They're not just going to come back to the U.S. when "we come to our senses" - especially since the U.S. farmers and small manufacturers will have to raise prices to make up for the losses they suffered when the tariff caused customers to go away. They're not going to buy our products out of the goodness of their hearts.
Those markets are going away now. And they won't come back any time soon.
It's just us here in the U.S. - and while that's 400 million people +, a good 100 million of those people have employment or investments that are dependent on foreign markets, so if we lose our foreign markets, we lose a significant amount of consumer purchasing.
It's a snowball effect downhill.

Haele

[workinclasszero]

12. Trump bailed out of all of our trade agreements

But the world did not stop trading.

Now China and others have contracts sewed up with other countries for years possibly.

That 12 billion for farmer welfare is a drop in the bucket and is all going to Big Ag anyway.

[Dave Starsky]

14. China's farmers are doubling their soybean acreage.

Those are soybeans that will never be bought from the US again.

[workinclasszero]

15. Exactly

Gone forever. Thanks Trump!

[joshcryer]

24. Gone forever, indeed.

Developing countries are striving for some hand up in the world markets, there are literally farmers in some "shithole country" right now gleefully dancing around knowing if they expand their little farm to fill some demand that Trump has created, and they are going to do it. Of course, more power to these people, but Trump doesn't realize what he has done.

There is literally a little old dude on a farm somewhere in a developing country whose sons and daughters have come to him and said "let's start growing blueberries," and he's like "why?" and they tell him about Maine's blueberry problem, and he immediately jumps up from his chair and says "let's do it!"

That's happening somewhere in the world right now, I know it. God bless them.

[workinclasszero]

25. I bet farmers around the world rejoiced

when Trump broke our trade agreements out of hand.

[joshcryer]

18. You are 100% right.

It will cause a "new normal." Maines blueberries? They'll just be replaced by some other fruit some other country is producing (if not blueberries). The gap created by these tariffs will likely never be closed, because developing countries are building up so fast and you can bet someone is sitting around a table right now talking to investors and talking about how to fill each and every hole left.

[SeattleVet]

7. But he's an expert at farming...

[workinclasszero]

13. Lol

Yeah that’s all Shit45 knows about farmers no doubt!

[yortsed snacilbuper]

8. I was watching MSNBC interviewing soy farmers in Iowa,

they seem to be okay with the tariffs.

[Dave Starsky]

16. Well, they're gettin' a bailout!

Ain't nothin' sweeter than unearned income! Yeehaw!!

[Fred Sanders]

29. A few interviewed farmers does not mean all or even most...which fallacy is that one?

"The opinions of a few are no evidence of the opinions of the many"

Commander Spock

(Could be wrong on that quote)

[keithbvadu2]

40. Surely true conservatives won't take a socialist bailout.

Surely true conservatives won't take a socialist bailout.

[markses66]

20. What's your position on the tariffs?

If you don't mind me asking.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

46. I think they're another form of taxation,

doubt they work.

[markses66]

47. Oh

So you disagree with Trump's trade policy?

[gratuitous]

10. Why would Trump care?

I got ripped off by a thief who broke into my apartment. I felt really angry and violated. I took it very personally. After all, the thief broke into my home, went through my stuff, and helped himself to anything valuable he came across. He left a big mess for me to clean up, and cost me a lot of money to replace what he'd taken. His haul probably didn't come to even a tenth of the value of the stuff he'd taken.

The thief didn't care. It wasn't personal, just business. He needed to steal some stuff, I had some stuff. Trump needed to look like a tough guy, and needed to distract people from other issues, so he started a trade war. You have stuff you want to trade, Trump needed to fuck up the market. Nothing personal.

[Dave Starsky]

21. You know what really sucks most about a break-in?

The stuff that no amount of money can ever replace. Things like old pictures of dear loved ones that were obviously just dumped in a bag with all the sellable stuff, so that it can be sorted through later, then tossed in the trash.

[wonkwest]

17. I honestly don't get his rationale

I know that’s a fool’s errand, but does he really not understand basic economics?

Ok, that was a dumb question.

Do his advisors not know basic economics?

Maybe a dumber question.

I really want to figure what these people are thinking, and I’m at a total loss. All I can think is people worried about TPP. “Let’s do the opposite of TPP!” Wait, oh god, no.

[Dave Starsky]

26. His advisors are even less competent than he is.

He won't have anyone working for him that he suspects as being smarter than he is. Because he is the smartest guy that ever lived, and his opinions can't be questioned.

As far as Trump's understanding of economics, I really doubt that he understands anything about anything. You don't have to know how anything works to bullshit and rip people off. You just have to be a complete sociopath who will always tell people what you think they want to hear, regardless of the truth behind it. Trump EXCELS at that. But that is not a skill, nor is it a quality that any President should have.

This is the world we live in now.

[Fred Sanders]

31. Larry Kudlow. Just the name makes me laugh.

[markses66]

19. Trump barely recognizes that food comes out of the ground

He's a completely myopic shitheel.

[anarch]

22. he has figuratively stabbed America right in the heart

What an asshole.

[maxrandb]

28. I think large Corporate Farms planned this all along

Retrumplicans care about "family farms"...GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK

[Achilleaze]

32. republicans have pissed all over America's farmers

a freaking disgrace what the republicans have done

[Squinch]

34. And likely American farmers will keep voting for them. So there's that.

[rocktivity]

37. Trump has no idea

period...


rocktivity

[Grammy23]

48. It is actually worse than that.

While it is true he has no idea, he THINKS he knows it all. So no one can tell him a damn thing. And if they try, he cuts them off at the pass. His most important Daily Briefing he gets on our national security has to be boiled down to what will fit on an index card. And even then there is no guarantee he will even read that. After all, he IS the smartest guy in the room, right? Why bother reading and learning if you already know it all??

[Solly Mack]

38. He doesn't care.

[nature-lover]

41. Wonder how much will go to donor linked big ag?

[TheBlackAdder]

49. Soybeans won't pick up after trade war... China already has established supply lines with Russia now