Capital Economy, Business and Finance
The Trump administration is considering giving more support to farmers because of fears the trade war it started with China could cripple food producers, many of them in Republican states.
During his first trade scrap with Beijing in 2018, Trump gave $28 billion in bailouts to stabilise US agriculture, but some regions still haven’t recovered.
Beef exports from Utah are down 15 per cent since 2018 due to reduced Chinese demand and shifts to Brazilian suppliers.
This time it’s America’s 500,000 soybean producers who are at risk – Chinese buyers accounted for nearly half their revenue in 2024.
Republican Senators from North Carolina, Kansas and North Dakota have expressed concern about the fallout for feed and livestock producers.
China has started stockpiling Brazilian soy and its officials say China has a secret weapon: Chinese people’s willingness to “eat bitterness” or chiku, in service of a national goal.
Can the same be said of America’s farmers?
Photo credit: Rory Doyle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
