Fear of 'disastrous situation' in farm economy as China targets huge US soybean business

This is China's best opening shot in it's threat of a trade war? They threaten to make their own huge population that depends on America to feed it go hungry? LMAO! We have them over a food barrel like OPEC once had us over an oil barrel. America is the largest food exporter in the world and China has the largest population in the world to feed so I have to laugh when they threaten tarrifs on our food. An oppressive government can only survive as long as they keep the people well fed and this could foment unrest in China that is always just below the surface. If this ever does become an actual trade war china may implode without us firing a shot.

• America's $14 billion soybean trade with China is at risk after Beijing targets the commodity for a 25 percent tariff.
• Beef, cotton, corn and wheat are also among the U.S. products targeted for possible retaliatory duties.
• China buys roughly half of the U.S. soybean exports and is the second-largest buyer of American cotton.
• The latest trade spat with China follows President Trump's call for tariffs on more than 1,300 Chinese products.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/04/une...economy-with-china-targeting-us-soybeans.html

 

One wonders if the US is such a huge producer of food, why do we import food from mexico? As you know, we have corporate farms in mexico, displacing small generational small farmers, some of who slipped into the US to keep from starving.

BTW most of the food we export to china are from corporate farms, not family farms as family farms are GONE. Same with cotton. These are huge corporate operations in large part. Plus we use millions of acres of farm land these days to grow ethanol corn, a waste of good land which could be used for food, given the US is a major supplier of food. And without us, starvation would be greater than today. And then if we used that land for food perhaps we would not import food from mexico, tainted with E Coli. Taco Bell still does not use green onions on its mexican pizza due to an E Coli outbreaks years ago, coming from...Mexico.

 

Takes guts to go after China, who openly commits fraud.

Interesting how many people refuse to admit something needs to be done, and would rather let China harm our economy and industrial base.

 

I said food exporter not food producer and China depends on us to feed them. If they increase food cost to their population they do so at their own risk.

"The United States has long been a superpower in food markets – and it is still the world's largest food exporter"

Read more: The 4 Countries That Produce the Most Food | Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/articl...countries-produce-most-food.asp#ixzz5BoZrJof7

 

China is stupid. You undercut the US by further reducing prices and flooding the market with cheap trash that the average plebe will buy over American versions of the same thing.

It's hilarious to watch all this.

 

Most items do not have any American versions. All things we use have some parts that are made in....China. Speaking of which, why haven't Trump hitting the clothing manufacturers.....is it because his family have all their product lines made in China? hypocrites the lot of them.

 

You are assuming China can't replace the US by dealing with other countries. What make you think they can't replace the soybean they import from the US with import from say.... Brazil?? (just one example).

 

Or Argentina both of whom export more than we do

 

China buys food from us because we produce it more efficiently and sell it at a lower cost. It's not like there's a glut of food in the world and people are throwing away unpurchased food. There only so much food to go around and if china offers other countries more money for food they produce that leaves the countries that previously purchased it without food and then they buy from us. If anything this will drive up world food prices and benefit our farmers. China comes out the loser no matter how you look at it and putting tarrifs on food shows their deseperation.

 

They can't just ramp up production overnight. Their food is already spoken for and in order to grow more they would need to slash and burn even more of their rain forest which they have agreed not to do when they endorsed the Paris agreement..

 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...zuela-drought-to-worsen-in-argentina/70004250

Brazil and Argentina have been experiencing some severe drought over the last few years. Their crop yields are way down.

Secondly soy beans are fungible.

Thirdly, US farmers can change their crop, soy beans aren't planted for at least another month here in the US.

 

China had already cut back on soybean purchases from the US, by quite a bit before this latest stupidity from the buffoon. Brazil / Argentina will settle in quite nicely as suppliers. And yes, the farmers in "Trumpland" are very worried, will they plant corn...or soy. And net farm income forecast for 2018 isn't good, it could be the worst year since 2006, and less than half the peak of 2013. Farmers have a lot on their plate when planning their year and this uncertainty doesn't help. For farmers, stupidity matters....and Trump is stupid.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...cial-60-days-that-may-decide-financial-future

 

You mean they don't have American versions......anymore.

I wonder why.

 

Well, then Trump can expect to be hearing from Archer Daniels Midland. It would go something like this. "Donald. we invest in Republicans to take care of US, like George HW and George W did! What's your problem? Do we need to send some folks down to explain how this works???? You seem to be having difficulties understanding"

 

Re

You are assuming Chinese people will stop eating because it cost more. They still have to eat and will do so. All China is doing here is cutting off their nose to spite their face.

 

It's you that has difficulty understanding. Putting tarrifs on a necessity like food is just going to hurt the people that eat it not the producers of it.

 

The Chinese have always had a solution to that, they just kill their unwanted people.

 

That's exactly what they may be doing by putting a tarrifs on food. Much of china is barely eating as it is and this could tip some people into hunger if not starvation.

 

Their neighbor has a lot of grass based recipes they could share.

 

This would all assume that China gives a damn about its people...

 

It does give a damn in that the only reason the Chinese people put up with this oppressive government is because they are enjoying some modicum of financial success. If their food starts costing 25% more it could cause unrest that is always right below the surface in China to boil over.

 

The Great Leap Forward was not that long ago..

 

Your point is?

 

That the Chinese Government does not give two shits about its people.

 

Obviously not and tariffs on their food is evidence of that. As I said in the OP though this could lead to unrest in China and may end up biting the leadership right in the ass. They may be very sorry if they actually go down this road.