Trump's trade war is wrecking America's farm economy

[Botany]

https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-trump-trade-farmers-20190510-story.html

Farm prices are down, bankruptcies are up, farm equipment is getting more expensive and export markets are fading away: Is there anything to like about the impact President Trump has had on the agricultural economy of the United States?

It’s no secret that the nation’s agricultural midsection has been a haven of support for Trump. But it also has been pummeled by his policies, not least among them his truculent trade war with some of the farm belt’s most important export markets, such as China.

Last November, Chinese soybean imports from the U.S. fell to zero. That’s a big hit, since American soybean farmers export half their crop and China was their largest single market, buying $12 billion of the commodity in 2017.

snip

The pain in the fields is beginning to intensify. Farm bankruptcies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas have spiked in the last two years, reaching 103 in 2018, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. That’s the highest level since 2010, during the post-recession hangover. “This trend has not yet seen a peak,” the Minneapolis Fed said in November.

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China Turns to Russia in Search to Replace U.S. Soybeans
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/china-turns-to-russia-in-search-to-replace-u-s-soybeans

[walkingman]

1. If they go bankrupt and still support Trump it tells me a lot about farmers. I do not think

the US taxpayer should continue to give them welfare. They have already gotten 12B no more!

[Botany]

4. We don't have enough money to pay off all the farmers at a level that will them keep their farms.

"Last November, Chinese soybean imports from the U.S. fell to zero."

[delisen]

2. Benficiaries of Trump Trade War: #1 is Putin

#2 may be Big Agriculture that can afford to wait out the crisis, and gobble up foreclosed farms, then regain markets lost to other countries.

#3 may be insiders trading with fore-knowledge of Trump actions.

Most of the rest of us are losers in the Trump script-all con men follow scripts the write themselves or follow successful scripts others have written.

Conmen utilize action and distraction. When we have been pulled into a multi-dimensional con, such as we are now engaged, the actions and distractions seem to become almost impossible to to focus on and comprehend-it's like trying to follow several circus acts at once or several shell games at the same time.




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[Botany]

5. And lots of other countries are more than happy to fill the void and supply China with ag goods too.

n/t

BTW I wonder if Putin told Trump to do these crazy acts when he talked to him 1.5 weeks ago?

[Wounded Bear]

3. All part of the plan to eliminate the family farm...