Iowa Farmers Fret Over Lasting Impact of China’s Tariffs

The US has led the world in corn and soybean exports, but if high tariffs persist, global market share for these commodities may be irretrievably lost. A new Iowa State University study suggests that the Iowa soybean and corn industries will lose an average of $545 million and $333 million in revenue, respectively. The state’s tax revenue will fall between $111 million and $146 million in 2018.

Farmers are concerned once tariffs subside, China will have already established new trading partners with countries like Brazil. This type of trade realignment is not without precedent. In the wake a 2009 trade dispute 2009 trade dispute with China, the US permanently lost a significant portion of its poultry market share to Brazil and the EU. And now as US soybeans are trading on the world market at a discount relative to Brazilian soybeans, Iowa farmers have additional cause for concern. As trade alliances are rewritten and tariffs persist, Gro Intelligence will provide subscribers with the up-to-date data and analytics to monitor global trade flows.

Annual export volume for corn and soybeans from the US and Brazil