Despite the Trump administration’s insistence that trade wars are easy to win, the continuing belligerence towards global trade partners is not going down well with US cattlemen. After the USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $12bn relief package for farmers impacted by recent tariffs, the reaction from the industry was lukewarm.
“NCBA looks forward to reviewing the details of the Trump Administration's trade retaliation relief package,” says Kent Bacus, Director of International Trade for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association
“Trade agreements and trade enforcement are the most effective long-term solutions to the challenges faced by US beef producers," Bacus went on. “For many years, US beef has been a target of high tariffs and restrictive trade policies from notorious actors like China and the European Union. We support a vigorous approach to tearing down trade barriers, including non-tariff barriers that are not based on science.”
"Removing China’s highly-restrictive barriers on U.S. beef exports could unlock the full potential of that market and result in $4bn in annual sales. Here at home, beef producers need relief from onerous federal regulations that undermine their businesses. Let’s start by fixing the restrictive hours-of-service rules for livestock haulers, modernising the Endangered Species Act, and ending the 2015 Waters of the United States rule once-and-for-all.”
