US farmers ‘cautiously optimistic’ over trade deal
US farmers, pork producers and politicians are “cautiously optimistic” that there will be a resolution in the tit-for-tat trade dispute between the United States and China after US President Donald Trump announced a deal had been struck “in principle”.
The initial proposals between the US and China include moves on agriculture and a suspension of a US tariff increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports that was scheduled for Oct 15.
China also suspended its retaliatory tariffs and reportedly agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of agricultural products, including 30 million metric tons of soybeans and an undisclosed amount of pork.
Tim Bardole, Iowa Soybeans Association president and a soybean farmer in Rippey, Iowa, said in a statement: “We are cautiously optimistic that this latest announcement of a breakthrough in negotiations will result in a comprehensive trade agreement.”
He noted that over the past two years, soybean exports to China had “declined by almost two-thirds. As a result, domestic soybean prices have dropped significantly, as America’s producers have been relegated to a secondary supplier to China. Knowing that we’ll have improved market opportunities for the soybeans we’re harvesting is good for morale and prices”.
The proposed deal was announced by Trump on Friday during a White House visit by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, who was involved in negotiations with US representatives. Trump said the two sides had reached “phase one” of a trade deal, the details of which have not yet been finalized but will be in three weeks.
Before the trade conflicts, China bought $20 billion to $25 billion worth of US agricultural products each year.
Last year, sales of US soybeans to China fell 74 percent to $3.1 billion. Pork sales also dropped, by 21 percent to $852 million.
Jim Monroe, senior director of communications at the US National Pork Producers Council, told China Daily: “We think it’s great news. … What we’d really like to see is a permanent exclusion from any punitive tariffs and to have sustained favorable access to the world’s largest pork-consuming nation.”
US Senator Chuck Grassley called the announcement of a potential trade deal “positive”, but said he wanted more information.
“We need to know more about this deal, and follow-through from China will be key,” Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a statement.