User:AIsufi80/Trump administration farmer bailouts

The Donald Trump administration set the goal of its policy strategy, “America First”, to divert foreign trade and promote U.S. sectors. The administration levied import taxes on China, Europe, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. The United States biggest exports by sector are agriculture, crude oil, and steel (1). The former President, Donald Trump, signed a regulation imposing a 25% duty on steel imports and 10% on aluminum in all countries. In retaliation, China, one of the United States’ largest steel exporters, imposed a 25% tariff on imported soybeans (4). The tariff on soybeans was hard on U.S. farmers since China is the largest importer of soybeans in the world and the U.S. exports the highest volume of soybeans in the world. The necessity for a bailout program arose after soybean exports fell drastically in 2018 after the first wave of U.S. tariffs. The protectionist trade policy implemented by the Trump Administration first targeted steel and aluminum, followed by residential washers and solar cells. China retaliated to U.S. tariffs by deploying a total of $53 billion in tariffs on U.S. products (2). Farmers who suffered in the United States received a total of $19 billion from Trump's Bailout and Farmer Relief program(5).

History

A rising demand for soybeans in the 1980s triggered expansion in capital and labor associated with their production (3). Soybeans themselves were demanded by other food producers as an intermediate good to produce extracts and oils instead of consumers paying for soybeans for raw consumption. Soybeans, since they are used as an intermediate good, fuel other industries which makes them valuable and highly sought after. Since 1941, soybean markets in the United States have received government subsidy in the from of loans from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) which must be repaid after 9 months (3). The Agricultural Act of 1970 allowed farmers to harvest soybeans on land previously used for wheat, cotton, and rice while still farming those plants.

Sources:

(1) Kerr, William A. 2020. ""Aggressive Unilateralism" – The New Focus of US Trade Policy." The Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy 21, no. 1: 1-17, https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.lib.assumption.edu/scholarly-journals/aggressive-unilateralism-new-focus-us-trade/docview/2431034631/se-2?accountid=36120.

(2) Park, June and Troy Stangarone. 2019. "Trump's America First Policy in Global and Historical Perspectives: Implications for US–East Asian Trade." Asian Perspective 43, no. 1: 1-34, https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.lib.assumption.edu/scholarly-journals/trumps-america-first-policy-global-historical/docview/2220834424/se-2?accountid=36120.

(3) Crowder, Bradley M., and Joseph W. Glauber. “Government Programs for Soybeans.” National Food Review 13, no. 1 (January 1990): 32. http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.assumption.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9710162283&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

(4) Carvalho, Monique, André Azevedo, and Angélica Massuquetti. 2019. "Emerging Countries and the Effects of the Trade War between US and China." Economies 7, no. 2, https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.lib.assumption.edu/scholarly-(5)journals/emerging-countries-effects-trade-war-between-us/docview/2239669304/se-2?accountid=36120.

(6) “Trump's Farmer Bailout.” EWG, www.ewg.org/key-issues/farming/bailout.

Crowder, Bradley M., and Joseph W. Glauber. “Government Programs for Soybeans.” National Food Review 13, no. 1 (January 1990): 32. http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.assumption.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9710162283&site=ehost-live&scope=site.