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Perdue: Trade War May Affect Farm Bill

Ag Secretary says President will not allow farmers “to be the casualties if this trade dispute escalates"

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue acknowledged the U.S.-China tit-for-tat tariff standoff may force Capitol Hill lawmakers to factor in trade disruptions as they work on the next farm bill says a report from Politico.

As Perdue’s third RV tour as secretary brought him to Ohio, China announced that dozens of farm products — including soybeans and beef — stand to face 25% tariffs if the U.S follows through with 25% duties of its own on hundreds of Chinese goods in the Trump administration’s effort to force Beijing to change its intellectual property practices.

Perdue tried to offer some reassurance that President Donald Trump will not allow farmers “to be the casualties if this trade dispute escalates,” but he later added that Congress might have to use the farm bill to help producers.

“While we look to the farm bill to have a safety net, it has to be taken in the context of current events, and that would be the trade disputes that are ongoing,” Perdue said, cautioning that he couldn’t say with certainty how the brewing trade war with China would ultimately affect agricultural producers.

“I hope they would continue to develop a program that would create a safety net, but there may have to be some extraordinary measures taken, based on what we see regarding the trade dispute,” he added.

Read the full report here.

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