Farm Bureau’s Boening to CNN: Tariffs Going to Cause Hardship

A CNN article on current trade happenings mentioned analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation and quoted Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening. The article noted that while the U.S. agriculture industry has experienced a trade surplus, retaliatory tariffs hinder the surplus.

Agriculture has already seen the impact of retaliatory tariffs. “China has added a 25 percent tariff to soybeans, on top of the existing 3 percent levy. Its tariffs on pork are now 70 percent, rather than the previous 20 percent,” AFBF economist Veronica Nigh told CNN.

Boening explained how his family business has been affected. "It's going to cause [us] hardship," he said.

“He may have to put off purchasing some new equipment. Since his farm is established, he feels he can weather it better than some newer operators who may have more debt. But he fears he'll have to make more cutbacks if the tariff wars continue,” noted CNN.