Tariffs Are Harming Farmers and Ranchers

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about a very important issue to my constituents in Missouri's Fifth Congressional District and, frankly, millions of farmers and ranchers all across this great country.

Recently, President Donald Trump announced his intention to place a $50 billion--that is billion with a ``B''--in tariffs against Chinese goods, claiming that China has been taking advantage of the United States for too long. I wish that someone in the White House, someone on the staff had cautioned the President on the negative impact his launching of a trade war would have on this country. This unvetted decision has and will continue to cause significant harm to many of my constituents and to rural Americans throughout the heartland.

Following President Trump's announcement of his intended tariffs, predictively, the Chinese responded with $50 billion in proposed tariffs of their own. These tariffs, which would be as high as 25 percent, would target 128 American products such as pork, beef, cotton, soybeans, corn, specific types of vehicles, and airplanes.

First, I want to talk about soybeans. Last year, the United States exported $14 billion worth of soybeans to China. In Missouri, my home State, soybeans are the number one cash crop, contributing $7.7 billion in total output and supporting more than 20,000 jobs in our State.

One out of every three rows of soybeans grown in Missouri goes to China, and one in every four rows grown in the United States goes to China. The day the Chinese announcement was made, soybean futures on the stock market were down almost $0.40 a bushel. This was only after the tariffs were announced. Can you imagine the kind of losses soybean farmers would face if they were actually implemented?

Now, how about pork? Over the past 10 years, the United States has been, on average, the top exporter of pork in the world. Last year alone, nearly $6.5 billion in pork was exported from the United States with $1 billion of that being exported to China. Pork exports help to support about 550,000 jobs.

Midwest States like Missouri dominate hog production and exports. Missouri is ranked seventh, and our next-door neighbor, Kansas, is ranked tenth.

The Chinese have announced that they will also target U.S. corn, which will negatively impact the corn-based ethanol plant in my district, Mid-Missouri Energy. The plant is located in a little town, Malta Bend, and probably to some people that is not important, but it is a major economic stabilizer in that town and the entire area.

Economic losses to that plant or even closure of the plant would have rippling effects throughout the surrounding area.

Now, I know Mr. President is a real estate man, so he might not understand how business works on a farm, but these people work on razor-thin margins. In any given year, a bad crop, lack of demand, or Mother Nature's wrath can cause an economic downturn that leaves them struggling. American farmers have enough unknown variables they have to deal with. These reckless threats of tariffs on one of our biggest trading partners do not need to be added to that list.

If this so-called war continues, we can expect Boeing plants, such as the one in St. Louis, Missouri, down the street from us in Kansas City, to hit China, and then China may back away from ordering some 7,000 planes that would strengthen and inject over $1 trillion into our State's economy.

The President is correct, the Chinese do steal U.S. intellectual property and, yes, there is a trade imbalance in this relationship. Nevertheless, even with only one class in economics, I understand clearly that trade wars are not good. No one wins.

President Trump promised to negotiate new and improved trade deals, but his negotiating skills are falling far short and our farmers and ranchers will pay the price. I encourage President Trump to reconsider his shortsighted approach to trade and to offer him my help in finding other solutions to address our problems with China.

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