Source: Xinhua International Headlines
On the 3rd, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced a list of Chinese goods proposed to impose tariffs based on the results of the "301 Investigation", involving about $50 billion worth of goods imported from China every year.
This move by the United States ignores China's solemn representations and ignores the opposition in the United States. A few days ago, associations in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, and manufacturing in the United States advertised on television and online platforms to oppose the IRRESPent unilateral measures of the US government and call for a negotiated solution to Sino-US economic and trade issues.
Farmers: We are the first victims of the trade war!
"China is the biggest customer of U.S. soybeans, and we will be the first victims of the trade war!" President Trump, please support free trade! Bybel, An indiana farmer, said in a hit 30-second television commercial.
The farmer-backed free-trade funded ad was released March 29 and will air for two weeks on Fox television, CNN and video sites. To make sure the president sees it in person, ads will be "targeted" in Washington and Florida. In this way, Trump has a chance to see it whether he is in the White House or back to The Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
After the United States announced the imposition of high steel and aluminum tariffs and considered imposing tariffs on Chinese imports according to the "301 investigation", it is the second time that farmers support the free trade organization to publish an advertisement warning the US government.
Baipur has a 5,000-acre farm that grows mainly corn and soybeans. As soybean planting season approaches, Mr. Bybel, who had been supportive of Mr. Trump, is in a hurry, and the government's trade protectionist measures have created huge uncertainty for farms.
According to the American Soybean Association, nearly one-third of the total U.S. soybean production is exported to China each year, worth $14 billion. Hays Doffer, president of the Soybean Association, warned that if the U.S. soybean industry retaliates, thousands of American farmers will be harmed.
Bocas, co-chair of the Farmers' Support Free Trade Organization and former U.S. ambassador to China, said: "As a result of some of the initiatives taken by the Trump administration, we have seen targeted retaliation against fruit, red wine and other agricultural products, and we may see more tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports in the future." ”
Farm incomes in the United States have fallen in recent years due to falling agricultural prices. Baucus warned: "Almost everyone will suffer in a trade war, but no one will pay a heavier price than American farmers." ”
Farmers: The government is cutting off the lifeline of the industry!
"Trade and exports have become the lifeblood of the industry." Giordano, vice chairman of the National Pork Producers Council, said.
In an ad called "Free Trade Makes U.S. Pork Boom," the industry group, which represents the interests of 60,000 pork producers, persuades the U.S. government that if it loses its existing market, the entire industry will be in trouble.
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council of The People's Republic of China has decided to impose additional tariffs of 15% or 25% on 128 products imported from the United States from April 2, 2018. Among them, the tariff rate on 8 imported commodities such as pork and products is 25%. On the same day, the National Pork Producers Council issued a statement urging the U.S. government to negotiate a settlement with China.
In 2017, 26% of total U.S. pork production was exported, worth $6.5 billion. Over the past decade, the United States has averaged the world's largest annual pork exports, supporting 110,000 jobs. China is the third largest export market for U.S. pork, importing $1 billion of U.S. pork last year.
China's countermeasures have brought pork that would otherwise be exported to China into the local market, causing meat prices to plummet.
Of the nearly 100 counties in iowa in central U.S., Sioux County in the northwest corner has the largest agricultural exports, with related exports reaching $350 million in 2016.
Grutenhuis, a 42-year-old farmer, sold 25,000 pigs last year but could "bloody" hundreds of thousands of dollars this year. He said: "At any time, as long as you lose money, no one will be happy. ”
In the 2016 US election, 81.3% of the people of Sioux County voted for Trump, which is the second highest percentage of trumps in the country. But now, the survey finds that many local voters have defected. Farmer Schmidt said: "The situation is getting worse, if there is a better candidate, we will consider a replacement." ”
Manufacturing Workers: Please say "no" to tariffs!
"President, we count on you to help us keep jobs and say 'no' to steel tariffs!" Facing the camera, 6 Illinois manufacturing workers from different factories made the same call.
It was an advertisement produced by the American Association of Equipment Manufacturers and aired on Fox, NBC and other television stations from mid-to-late March. On the video website Youtu, the number of plays has reached more than 100,000 times.
Although the tax cuts have brought growth momentum to the equipment manufacturing industry, workers have decided: "Steel tariffs will change all this, not only directly hurting equipment manufacturers, but also putting us at a disadvantage in competition with foreign companies!" ”
The U.S. government's measures to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum products have officially come into effect. This is a "disappointment" to the American Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which has more than 900 members. Manufacturing giants such as Caterpillar and Deere Agribusiness, which are members of the association, not only rely on imported raw materials, but also worry that countermeasures by trading partners could hurt export markets.
Slater, president of the association, said that the imposition of high tariffs has led to an increase in steel prices, interfering with the production and operation of equipment manufacturers, and bringing great uncertainty to the business environment.
Manufacturing concerns are becoming a reality. According to the survey results recently released by the American Institute for Supply Management, 32% of the surveyed companies are worried that tariffs are dragging down the production of enterprises, and 10% of the surveyed companies complain that the tariffs have led to higher raw material prices.
Fiori, the head of the investigation, said suppliers announced price increases within 24 hours of the tariffs being announced, and that suppliers were "hoarding" in a "hoarding.". He warned that if economic and trade frictions continue to worsen, the momentum of U.S. manufacturing expansion may be reversed. (According to "Xinhua International Headlines")