National Farmers Union On China Trade War: ‘President Trump Is Making Things Worse, Not Better’
On Friday morning, official Beijing announced new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods. According to CNBC, China slapped retaliatory tariffs ranging from five to 10 percent in two batches effective on September 1, and December 1.
An additional set of tariffs is scheduled to take effect on December 15 — a 25 percent tariff on American cars, and a five percent tariff on auto parts and components. The announcement shook the stock market, but it turned out to be only a preview of what would come later in the day.
Hours after Beijing’s announcement, President Donald Trump took to social media to announce more tariffs on Chinese goods.
In a Twitter thread, Trump said that the $250 billion worth of Chinese products currently being taxed at 25 percent will be taxed at 30 percent starting on October 1 and that the remaining $300 billion of Chinese goods that will be taxed 15 percent starting September 1.
As The Inquisitr reported, in another series of tweets, Trump urged American companies to cease doing business with China, ordering them to shift production back to the United States. He also told UPS, Fed Ex, Amazon, and the Post Office to refuse all Fentanyl deliveries from the Asian country.
The back and forth between Beijing and Washington generated a major upset on Wall Street, causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to crater. Shares of companies affected by the trade war — such as Nvidia, Amazon, and UPS — dropped significantly, reigniting fears of an economic recession, which is thought to be around the corner given that the yield curve had recently inverted.
BREAKING: Stocks extend losses into the close; the Dow drops 700 points https://t.co/8Ujr8VMoWv pic.twitter.com/FWLHU833Jr
— Bloomberg (@business) August 23, 2019
It is not only Wall Street that is concerned with Trump’s trade war with China, but farmers are too.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) is now accusing Trump of “making things worse, not better,” according to The Hill.
In a statement, NFU President Roger Johnson questioned the president’s strategy, arguing that the trade war the United States has been waging on China is doing nothing to help farmers, but actually provoking the second largest economy in the world to retaliate, further escalating the economic conflict.
“It’s no surprise that China is slapping even more tariffs on American products. Every time Trump escalates his trade war, China calls his bluff — and why would we expect any differently this time around? And it’s no surprise that farmers are again the target,” he said.
On the front lines: Trade war sinks North Dakota soybean farmers https://t.co/cWXnwZRI9b pic.twitter.com/Cs488nuTbi
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 22, 2019
According to Johnson, the Trump administration is creating new problems for farmers across the United States, instead of solving the existing ones.
“Between burning bridges with all of our biggest trading partners and undermining our domestic biofuels industry, President Trump is making things worse, not better,” the NFU said.
