Industries from automobiles to soybeans could be battered by tariffs in a US-China trade war.
Soybean farmers, apple growers and auto workers are among the US workers bracing for fallout from a trade war between the United States and China.
The US on Friday slapped tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports to combat what is says are the country’s unfair trade practices. Beijing called it the beginning of “the biggest trade war in economic history” and retaliated with tariffs on billions of dollars worth of US exports. Another $16 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports are set to hit in the next two weeks.
Many products have suddenly become more expensive. The additional taxes will ripple through supply chains, forcing companies in both countries to decide whether to take a financial hit themselves or pass it along to consumers. If demand drops, jobs will be in jeopardy.
The US industries facing tariffs include cotton, dairy, auto and soybeans — the United States’ top agricultural export to China in 2017. Many of those industries have their roots in the Midwest and southern United States, areas that helped propel President Donald Trump to victory in 2016 on the promise of putting America first.
John Heisdorffer, a soybean grower from Iowa and president of the American Soybean Association, said the group had appealed to the Trump administration to find other solutions to addressing trade issues with China.
“Soybeans are the top agriculture export for the United States, and China is the top market for purchasing those exports,” Heisdorffer said in a statement . “The math is simple. You tax soybean exports at 25-percent, and you have serious damage to U. S. farmers.”
The group’s lobbying efforts have included a social media campaign in which “individual soybean farmers who will be directly affected by the trade conflict attached their photographs to statements appealing directly to the President and his advisors,” the group said.
There are 18 states that grow about 96% of the US’s soybeans, according to government statistics.
