Trade wars, where countries engage in tit for tat on tariffs and trade, earn the title of war. Lives, as in ways of life and livelihoods of citizens, the frontline foot soldiers of any trade war, are often the casualties.
China, under leadership from President Xi Jinping, just fired their first major salvo in the trade war created by President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff announcement. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced Friday, China, the world’s largest pork importer, consumer and producer plans a 25 percent tax on all U.S. pork imports.
While large developers, like Trump Enterprises, drive supply and demand in the big business steel manufacturing industry, almost driving U.S. steel and aluminum under by choosing to import cheaper steel for all of their building projects, the pork industry still includes small family farmers. Those small farms are likely to falter first in a U.S. government created trade war.
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), in a statement issued after the announcement, warned Chinese tariffs could seriously impact rural America. NPPC represents America’s 60,000 pork producers.
“We sell a lot of pork to China, so higher tariffs on our exports going there will harm our producers & undermine the rural economy. No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers & the consumers.” -NPPC President Jim Heimerl https://t.co/RCx8EaV0Is
— NPPC (@NPPC) March 23, 2018
“We sell a lot of pork to China, so higher tariffs on our exports going there will harm our producers and undermine the rural economy,” said NPPC President Jim Heimerl, a pork producer from Johnstown, Ohio.
No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers and the consumers.”
