Fortune (June 22)
“The U.S. farm economy has been fighting one battle after another in recent years, but a new threat is on the horizon that evokes memories of one of the worst agricultural disasters ever.” U.S. farmers were left reeling from low prices, tariffs and most recently Trump’s Iran War, which sent the prices for fertilizer and fuel soaring. Bankruptcies have been rising and now they may face the existential “risk of a ‘mini-Dust Bowl’ as a rare Super El Niño looms.”
Tags: Agricultural disasters, Bankruptcies, Existential, Farm economy, Farmers, Fertilizer, Fuel, Iran war, Low prices, Mini-Dust Bowl, Reeling, Risk, Super El Niño, Tariffs, Threat, Trump, U.S.
LA Times (February 21)
“The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down the majority of tariffs imposed by President Trump could provide some relief to L.A.’s trade-reliant economy — but only if they are not reimposed again through other means.” The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach form the largest ports complex in North America. “The tariffs dealt a blow to a large swath of businesses in Southern California and across the state, including farmers, automakers, home builders, tech companies and apparel retailers.”
Tags: Apparel, Automakers, Decision, Economy, Farmers, Home builders, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Majority, Ports, Relief, Strike down, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Tech, Trade, Trump
Wired (January 16)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing John Deere and this could mark “a tipping point for right-to-repair.” Deere has prevented farmers and third-party mechanics from making repairs by placing “limitations on its operational software, meaning certain features and calibrations on its tractors can only be unlocked by mechanics who have the right digital key.” Following “years of complaints” about these policies, repairability advocates see the FTC’s suit as “a milestone for consumer rights.”
Tags: Calibrations, Complaints, Consumer rights, Digital key, Farmers, FTC, John Deere, Limitations, Mechanics, Operational software, Repairability, Tipping point, Tractors
Washington Post (April 14)
Farmers in Europe are revolting. They are hopping “mad about high costs and low prices, about the prospect of free trade deals, about the constraints of climate regulations, about what they say is a failure of political elites to understand what it means to grow wheat or raise sheep.” In addition to “reshaping European policy,” their revolt “may foretell a sharp right shift,” including the major U.S. election.
Tags: Climate regulations, Constraints, Election, Europe, Farmers, Free trade deals, High costs, Low prices, Political elites, Revolting, Sheep, U.S., Wheat
Wall Street Journal (May 11)
The tariff spat with China “is a political trade risk the economy hasn’t faced since the 1930s, and no one knows where it might end.” Although there “will be many economic losers,” including U.S. farmers who are getting hit hard, “the broader cost is a continuation of policy uncertainty, as CEOs and investors can’t be sure about their supply chains, their cost of goods and raw material, or how long the tariff brawl will last.” Ultimately, “the impact on GDP is hard to calculate but it’s real.”
Tags: CEOs, China, Cost of goods, Economic losers, Economy, Farmers, Investors, Supply chains, Tariff, Trade risk, U.S., Uncertainty
Reuters (December 24)
“A financing drought may crack farmers’ loyalty to Donald Trump. The U.S. president’s trade war has evaporated export markets for a number of crops, leaving growers struggling even more than before.”
Tags: Crops, Drought, Export markets, Farmers, Financing, Growers, Loyalty, Struggling, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
New York Times (August 31)
“Worldwide, insect pests consume up to 20 percent of the plants that humans grow for food, and that amount will increase as global warming makes bugs hungrier…. That could encourage farmers to use more pesticides, which could cause further environmental harm.”
Tags: Bugs, Environment, Farmers, Food, Global warming, Humans, Hungrier, Insects, Pesticides, Pests, Plants, Worldwide
Washington Post (July 30)
“Trump has repeatedly said he would protect American farmers in the trade war, last week setting aside $12 billion to help them, but he is facing pressure to extend aid to other industries…. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday estimated the total price tag could hit $39 billion if Trump compensated the losses across all industries.” But most “critics of Trump’s trade policy are calling on him to de-escalate the trade war rather than try to bail out the businesses hurt by it.”
Tags: Bail out, Chamber of Commerce, Compensate, De-escalate, Farmers, Industries, Losses, Trade policy, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
NBC News (June 25)
“The Trump Administration’s trade war is starting to have real impacts on farmers who grow everything from corn to cotton.” Soybeans look set to bear much of the economic pain. “Soybeans were the nation’s largest agricultural export in 2017 and China was the biggest buyer, purchasing 57 percent of the total. But since China announced the tariff, the price of soybeans has fallen by roughly 15 percent to a more than two-year low.”
Wall Street Journal (April 3)
“Donald Trump hasn’t been talking about the rising stock market lately, and no wonder. Stocks have given up their earlier gains since the President unveiled his protectionist trade agenda” amid concern over “uncertainty from rising trade tension.” So far, China’s response “is measured, affecting $3 billion in annual trade or about 2% of U.S. goods exports to China, but it sends a pointed message that a larger trade war would hurt American businesses, farmers in particular.” If China subsequently moves to target “America’s biggest exports to China, such as soybeans and Boeing aircraft,” the pain will be much greater.
Tags: Boeing, China, Concern, Exports, Farmers, Protectionist, Soybeans, Stock market, Trade, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty
