-April 9,2019-
Even as the trade war with China heads toward a second year, new words from the Trump administration appear to threaten an escalation of more retaliatory tariffs with allies Canada and the European Union, both huge destinations for US and California farm exports.
Politico reports that “on Monday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it would slap tariffs on EU goods ranging from aircraft to fish, dairy products to binoculars, olive oil and wine, according to a preliminary list.” The EU promises to retaliate crop for crop
Faced with the stalemate over steel and aluminum tariffs Canada says it is also “ revamping its list of U.S. products facing retaliatory tariffs, its ambassador to the U.S. said Monday, in the latest sign the Trump administration isn’t moving to lift its steel and aluminum duties. Apples, pork, ethanol and wine could be on the updated list in the latest sign the Trump administration isn’t moving to lift its steel and aluminum duties.”
More bad news at the Mexico border this week as news reports say truck traffic is backed up at border crossings also impacting the car industry.
California sends more than $1 billion of farm products to Mexico every year. Mexico remained the United States’ third largest agricultural partner in 2017. U.S. agricultural and related product exports totaled USD 19.5 billion and accounted for nearly 12.3 percent of total U.S. exports in the sector and 65 percent of Mexico’s total agricultural imports. The United States remains Mexico’s principal agricultural trading partner, receiving USD 25.5 billion, or almost 78 percent, of Mexico’s total agricultural exports.
Although President Trump has delayed a decision to close the border with Mexico, US Dairy Export Council PresidentTom Vilsack reiterates the economic damage such a closure would create. “Farm income would be impacted, jobs would be impacted and the relationship between the two countries would be impacted,” he tells CNN’s “Quest Means Business.”
US dairy income has been hurt by the retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and China to the tune $1.5 billion in 2018 according to National Milk Producers.
Rural Migration news says California’s farm sales of $50 billion in 2017 were an eighth of US farm sales of $374 billion.The value of California’s farm exports was $21 billion, meaning that, by value, over 40 percent of the state’s farm products were exported. Exports were led by almonds, dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts. California exported $3.4 billion worth of farm commodities to the EU in 2017, $3.3 billion to Canada, and $2.3 billion to China.