Governor: Trade war worrisome for state
The trade war that appears to be unfolding between the United States and China is worrisome for Arkansas industries that rely on China as a major export market as well as those that depend on imported Chinese products, such as industrial or agricultural machinery, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday.
Hutchinson spoke with The Sentinel-Record on the sidelines of Arkansas Bar Association’s 120th annual
meeting at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The White House announced Friday morning that it would move forward with an estimated $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese products, some of which would go into effect as soon as July 6. The announcement sparked an immediate response from China, which said it would retaliate with tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American products. The U.S. agricultural sector is a major target, and states, like Arkansas, that export billions of dollars in rice, soybean and other grain crops to China annually could bear the brunt of the damage.
“What I am doing is pushing the case for Arkansas farmers with our administration officials,” Hutchinson said following his keynote address to the Bar Association’s annual meeting, a three-day affair that ended on Friday. “Every confidence I hear is that our farmers are not going to be hurt.”
Arkansas could take a $383 million hit to its economy if trade partners enacted just a 25 percent tariff on soy, rice, corn and grain sorghum exports, according to a March 2018 study released by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. At least 4,000 jobs could be lost, the study said.
The governor said he recently met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, as well as trade representatives from China, to discuss his concerns. He said he is hoping that there will be some exemptions for tariffs on heavy machinery made in China, adding that he says he feels like American rice and poultry sectors may not be impacted.
“I talked about having some exemptions that won’t hurt some of the investments we anticipate in Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “I have been assured they (trade officials) would be open to that.”
“I am still optimistic about it, even though there are some worrisome points in between,” he added. “I think we need to watch it carefully, but we need to pursue those exemptions that might help Arkansas industry, and if we do that, that will diminish that chance of retaliation (from China) as well.”
During his 45-minute long speech, Hutchinson addressed the need for stronger ethics in state government and praised the announcement of a proposal on Thursday by leaders in the state Senate to create an ethics committee and enforce stronger conflict-of-interest rules. The announcement came a week after a lawmaker, also related to Hutchinson, was implicated in a federal bribery and corruption investigation. Though he has not been charged with a crime, some state lawmakers are calling for Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson’s resignation after being tied to the probe.
“You have to be troubled that we have had public officials or former public officials indicted and pled guilty to serious breaches of public trust,” Hutchinson said. “It bothers me. It concerns me.”
The Arkansas governor said he believes guidelines need to be created for when an elected official should resign and that also the criminal justice system should be allowed to run its course. He cited examples of lawmakers who were later acquitted after resigning from their positions.
“The message is to let the criminal justice system work. Hopefully, it will work well, and hopefully it will come out with the right result,” he said.
He also discussed projects that he hopes will continue to be expanded in the state in the coming year, including a program to reduce the number individuals suffering from mental illness ending up in Arkansas prisons as well as reform in the juvenile justice system to reduce the number of youths behind bars.