The Trump Administration announced Tuesday a $12 billion “short-term” plan to help U.S. farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs. Agricultural officials say that the plan will involve direct payments to farmers. They also say it will involve the purchase of excess food, and trade promotion programs to help create new export markets.
President Donald Trump has come out heavily in support of his recent decisions to impose tariffs.
Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate. This should have taken place many years ago but,
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018
as the saying goes, better late than never!
Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It’s as simple as that - and everybody’s talking! Remember, we are the “piggy bank” that’s being robbed. All will be Great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018
But Trump has his opponents on this issue, like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. He recently held a roundtable with Wisconsin business people. And on Tuesday, he spoke out about the tariffs and how Trump's $12 billion short-term plan was the wrong approach.
I support @realDonaldTrump call for reciprocal trade and his effort to stop China’s theft of American intellectual property. But we should stop self-inflicting permanent damage to America’s economy through #tariffs and a #TradeWar
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) July 24, 2018
Wisconsin farmers are among those who have been feeling the heat from Trump’s trade policies. As a result, some local farmers are questioning Trump's $12 billion aid package.
Wood County farmer Brad Kremer of Hillcrest Family Farms, LLC says, "Well, it can be a short-term band-aid, I don't think it's a long-term solution." He is past president of the Wisconsin Soybean Association and current director on the board of the American Soybean Association.
Kremer says he supports President Trump and believes Trump has a point trying to make China play fair on trade. But, he says, he believes in "trade, not aid."
"I can't pound the point home enough that we have to make sure that we're open for business and that we're trading our agriculture commodities," Kremer adds.
He says it's troubling to him that China could turn to U.S. soybean competitors in Argentina and Brazil. "Our crops are coming off here in a month or two, and it's gotta go somewhere. We don't need to bottleneck it up here in the U.S."
