Chinese soy bean tariff puts Ohio farmers in danger

Nearly a year after the start of a dramatic trade war between the US and China, high tariffs prevent Ohio farmers from selling many of their crops to China.

“A very wise man once told my grandfather one time ‘You don’t fight with another country over food, they don’t forget stuff like that’,” said Ben Klick, an Ohio farmer and member of Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.

The trade war started with the President Trump’s introduction of steel tariffs last March in order to boost the US steel industry. Chinese trade officials responded with a 25 percent tariff of their own on US soy beans.

The tariff came as a shock to many farmers across the nation after 25 years of increased purchasing of US agricultural product. Every third row of soy beans was going to China, Klick said. China has consistently relied on large amounts of US soy beans for a long time now to supply its pork economy. Soy beans are commonly used in feed for pigs throughout the country.

Klick said he believed he was lucky to get his soy beans to market before all of this happened. He said he still has other products he can sell. Unfortunately, some other farmers didn’t share the same luck. Those that didn’t get their yields out in time have needed to keep most of their soy beans in storage until tariffs are dropped.

Now, China has moved to buying soy beans from Argentina and Brazil, countries with growing agricultural sectors. Surely, the vast amount of soy beans imported to China from these two will boost them into top spots.

“I know this trade war will end eventually, but, when it does, the issue that I see is will we, as farmers, be able to regain our access to China’s soy bean import market,” Klick said. This would prove a drastic setback, losing a third of their buyers, if they can’t win Chinese buyers back.

“Just in our industry, that one commodity has costed farmers millions of dollars on lost income and revenue,” Jack Irvin, Farm Bureau federal lobbyist, said.

Undoubtedly, the deal has helped the US steel industry grow, but the tariffs don’t exclusively hurt farmers. Agriculture creates $120 billion in economic activity and 12 percent of jobs are related to agriculture. The average US citizen can see price increases on all kinds of products until the deal is resolved.

“Some people can come out ahead if you’re protected, but it spills over in lots of other ways to lots of other firms and lots of other people,” Lockwood Reynolds, economics professor at Kent State said.

If the trade deal isn’t resolved between leaders by early March, farmers will likely see even higher tariffs introduced. “They both want what they want, and they look out for their people and they’re not going to give to each other,” Klick said.

Klick mentioned how Chinese buyers want US soy beans but won’t buy until tariffs are removed. Klick said he believes in the president and that’s why he voted for him, but he said it’s unfortunate to be on the losing end of the deal.

“I know there’s a greater good behind what we call this ‘market strategy’ but if I had to sit down with some Chinese grain buyers right now, I would ensure that if things get back to what I would consider normal that we would be ready with open arms to work side by side with them and get some great quality soy beans back into their country,” Klick said.

Looking towards the future, tensions in trade between the two countries seems high. The trade deal doesn’t just stem from trying to improve the US steel industry. The US has had problems for a while with intellectual property laws in China that may need to be resolved before a fair trade deal may arrive.