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Ongoing trade tensions adds volatility to U.S. trade

An ag economist at Ohio State University says ongoing uncertainty around trade policy adds volatility to U.S. trade.

Ian Sheldon says continued trade tensions with China could impact the bottom line for U.S. farmers. 

“Depending on the degree of tariff retaliation by China, I think there’s a real potential over the coming year, if things stay in place for a certain period of time, of the U.S. losing quite a bit of export market revenue,” he says. “That would be dominated by soybeans and then corn.”

He tells Brownfield the future of the Trump administration’s trade policy remains uncertain as the U.S Court of Appeals considers the legality of tariff actions.

“If the decision does go against them and they abide by the ruling, that pushes the administration back to the way it approached tariffs in 2018-2019,” he says. “Instead of tariffs being across the board, would be much more sector oriented and more country oriented than the otherwise already are.”

Sheldon says farmers need access to new markets to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

AUDIO: Ian Sheldon, Ohio State