As Missouri Soybean Producers Face Declining Prices, Potential Tariffs, McCaskill Calls for End to Trade War
After meeting with Missouri soybean and biodiesel producers, Senator: ‘I’m fighting unnecessary tariffs and calling for an end to this reckless trade war’
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill met with Missouri soybean and biodiesel producers today to discuss the importance of the renewable fuel standard and open trade markets. She also heard about the drastic impact soybean tariffs would have on Missouri. The threat of tariffs from China comes after the Trump administration announced a variety of tariffs on Chinese goods.
Click HERE for more photos from the meeting.
“With one in three rows of Missouri beans sold to China, tariffs that close the door to critical markets would be disastrous for Missouri’s farmers and producers,” McCaskill said. “I’ve continued to hear from hardworking Missouri farmers that their livelihoods are at stake—which is why I’m fighting unnecessary tariffs and calling for an end to this reckless trade war.”
After an announcement in April that China had proposed tariffs on $50 billion of American soybeans, pork, and beef, along with aircraft, trucks, and other goods in retaliation for the Trump Administration’s announcement it would place tariffs on Chinese goods, McCaskill called on the Administration to “scale back this escalating situation before it becomes a trade war that does nothing but slam some of Missouri’s most critical economic engines.”
Additionally, at a Senate hearing with the Trump Administration’s trade chief, McCaskill raised the alarm over threats to Missouri’s agriculture producers and manufacturers in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and from threats of retaliation from new high tariffs on steel and aluminum.
McCaskill is a longtime advocate for farmers, producers, and workers in Missouri. She recently joined a bipartisan group of Senators in urging the Trump Administration to oppose any changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard that could harm Missouri’s agriculture and biodiesel producers. The Renewable Fuel Standard, which was supported by McCaskill and signed into law in 2007, requires increased volumes of renewable fuels to be produced in the United States each year.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/
###
