Trump blames China and Biden for problems of American farmers caused by tariffs

The new US Administration’s lack of a strategy for China has already hit the American economy. Local consumers will pay more for Chinese goods, and farm prices will fall due to export restrictions.

By imposing high tariffs, Trump tried to force China to negotiate on US terms, but China struck back by imposing a mirror 125% tariff on US goods and restricting exports of seven rare earth metals and related materials used in the US defense, energy, and automotive industries.

The introduction of reciprocal tariffs has halted trade between the US and China, which will lead to a reduction in US agricultural exports and cause losses to American farmers.

But President Trump, as usual, blamed his predecessor Joe Biden and the Chinese government for the situation. On his Truth Social network, he wrote: “Our farmers are great, but because of their greatness, they are always on the front lines with our adversaries like China whenever there are trade negotiations or, in this case, a trade war.”

He noted that this was exactly what happened during his first term. “Then China was cruel to our farmers, but I called on them to stand up and we made a great trade deal that provided $28 billion in support for farmers. But under the crooked Biden, China reneged on the deal, buying only a fraction of what they promised because they had no respect for the dishonest Biden administration,” Trump said.

At the same time, Trump promised to protect US farmers, without explaining exactly how this would be done.

The growing tensions between the countries are hampering not only mutual trade but also the business that American companies do in China. American ADM, one of the four largest global agri-trading companies, announced the closure of trading operations and layoffs in its largest business segment in China. It is expected to cut 40-50 employees, with only 10 employees remaining in the financial center of Shanghai.

This indicates that the company does not expect relations between the countries to improve quickly, and other companies may do the same in the near future.

Tags: China, USA, agricultural sector