Statewide Iowa — (RI) — This week, the U.S. imposed 10-percent tariffs on another $200-billion worth of Chinese goods, which was met with retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods.
Kirk Leeds, president and CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association, says hopes for a short-term resolution to the trade war with China are fading.
USDA Trade Undersecretary Ted McKinney told reporters this week that the dispute between the U.S. and China could go on for months. A study released this week by Iowa State University estimates, because of new tariffs, Iowa’s soybean industry faces loses between $159-million and $891-million. Leeds says it’s possible the situation will get worse before it gets better.
China, which uses one-third of the world’s soybeans, placed a 25-percent tariff on U.S. soybeans in July. Iowa is the second-leading soybean producing state in the U.S. behind Illinois. The study from ISU’s Center for Agriculture and Rural Development claims overall losses from the tariffs to Iowa’s gross state product range from $1-billion to $2-billion.
You can view the ISU study by CLICKING HERE.
