US farmers are slamming Trump - saying 'trade policy is not a game' and China tariffs will plague ranchers for 'decades'
- US farmers are slamming Trump's tariffs after he announced in a tweet that an additional 10% of tariffs would be placed on Chinese goods, on top of the 25% already in place.
- "Trade policy is not a game - it has real and serious consequences for rural America," said the president of the National Farmers Union to Bloomberg.
- Markets Insider reported earlier this week that China had already been looking to other markets such as Brazil for agricultural goods in light of the trade dispute.
- View Markets Insider for more stories.
US farming associations have hit out at President Donald Trump's tariffs saying that "Trade policy is not a game" and that "farmers and ranchers could be dealing with the fallout for decades to come."
Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, the nation's second-largest general farm organization, told Bloomberg that Trump's latest tariffs would hurt American farmers - a large part of his own voter base.
"Trade policy is not a game - it has real and serious consequences for rural America," Johnson told Bloomberg, adding "Immediately after President Trump tweeted his tariff threats, already low commodity prices slipped yet again, but the long-term implications for our country's reputation as a reliable trading partner are likely to be even more damaging."
Trump announced in a Tweet that he would be stepping up tariffs adding 10% on top of the already 25% tariff on Chinese goods. Markets plunged on the news.
"It may take President Trump just a few minutes to write 280 characters, but family farmers and ranchers could be dealing with the fallout for decades to come," Johnson said.
Bloomberg reported that US soybeans futures were on track for their worst week in three months and hogs were set for the biggest slump in a year - those are two of the biggest US agricultural exports to China.
Markets Insider earlier this week reported that China was now buddying up with Brazil to replace the lack of soybean shipments from the US. Soybean exports had dropped considerably in from the USA while Brazilian exports had increased substantially since Trump took office.
See More: China is sourcing more of its farm goods from other countries, and that's a bad sign for the US.
Last week the US, announced it would be giving $16 billion in subsidies to farmers hit by the trade war, with $14.5 billion of that in direct payments to farmers.