According to a USDA report, China was responsible for 95% of the $27billion in U.S. farm export sales lost in 2018/2019 due to the Trump trade war. Sales to China rebounded after the “phase one” trade agreement, but U.S. market share has remained lower than before the tit-for-tat tariffs.
Six U.S. trade partners — Canada, China, the EU, India, Mexico, and Turkey — responded with retaliatory tariffs after the United States imposed duties on imported steel and aluminum and on China for its policies on intellectual property and technology transfer. The USDA’s Economic Research Service estimated total losses of farm exports at $27 billion over two years, or $13.2 billion a year.
“Across retaliatory partners, China accounted for approximately 95% of the losses — $25.7 billion,” said the ERS. Sales to the EU dropped by $600million and to Mexico by 500 million. Soybeans accounted for 71% of the decreases, followed closely by sorghum (6%) and pork (5%).
“At the state level, estimated losses were largely concentrated in the Midwest region,” said the report. Iowa lost $1.46 Billion a year, Illinois lost $1.41 Billion, and Kansas lost $955 M.
U.S. farm exports accounted for 20% of China’s agricultural imports in 2017, the last year before the trade war. The phase one agreement, signed early 2020, required China’s vastly increased purchases of U.S. foods and farm products. In fiscal 2021, sales reached a record $33.4 million “However, U.S. market share has not fully recovered to pre-retaliatory levels one year out from the phase one agreement signing,” said the ERS.
The report, “The Economic Impacts of Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Agriculture,” is available here.
Source: Successful Farming
