Soybean farmers particularly so because most of their product goes to China. So far this season, China has bought no beans.
A lot of countries, when they can, are doing business with other countries and avoiding the American tariff regime.
China in particular is caught up in an ongoing shambles around trade generally, so China has gone to Argentina for their soybeans.
This has left the people of Minnesota, where most of the beans are grown, with a problem.
If you remember when Trump announced the tariffs, the tariffs had no downside, apart from a little pain at the start. His words: "a little pain".
I'm assuming losing your biggest soybean customer is the "little pain" bit.
Anyway, the White House’s response to this is a massive bail out. Farmers all over America from beans, to wheat, to corn are going to get money because they can't sell their products.
In a country like New Zealand, none of this will come as any surprise given we have been basically tariff free for years and we do business on the very simple basis that it costs what it costs to make something and you sell it to willing buyers for what the market can bear.
Need I introduce the butter story at this point?
The problem in some cases is if the tariff or barrier is too high into a market you look for other markets. This is happening a lot in food.
By the way, it's also reported Trump is looking at some kind of major carve out around car production as well, given there is no car that is truly American made and they told him this at the start.
So the tariffs arrived, the prices went up, and the demand went down.
I'm assuming even Trump can see that a farmer who grows something that he once sold to the world to make a living but now can't because he has been priced out of the market, does not a good economic story make.
And when said farmer then has to earn an income from the Government, not the market, something about the Trump tariff plan doesn't seem to be working.
But then there was no shortage of people pointing that out earlier this year.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
This has left the people of Minnesota, where most of the beans are grown, with a problem.
If you remember when Trump announced the tariffs, the tariffs had no downside, apart from a little pain at the start. His words: "a little pain".
I'm assuming losing your biggest soybean customer is the "little pain" bit.
Anyway, the White House’s response to this is a massive bail out. Farmers all over America from beans, to wheat, to corn are going to get money because they can't sell their products.
In a country like New Zealand, none of this will come as any surprise given we have been basically tariff free for years and we do business on the very simple basis that it costs what it costs to make something and you sell it to willing buyers for what the market can bear.
Need I introduce the butter story at this point?
The problem in some cases is if the tariff or barrier is too high into a market you look for other markets. This is happening a lot in food.
By the way, it's also reported Trump is looking at some kind of major carve out around car production as well, given there is no car that is truly American made and they told him this at the start.
So the tariffs arrived, the prices went up, and the demand went down.
I'm assuming even Trump can see that a farmer who grows something that he once sold to the world to make a living but now can't because he has been priced out of the market, does not a good economic story make.
And when said farmer then has to earn an income from the Government, not the market, something about the Trump tariff plan doesn't seem to be working.
But then there was no shortage of people pointing that out earlier this year.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
Trump’s outstandingly successful peace deal certainly didn’t help Hosking’s chronic case of TDS.
You keep missing the point Mike. The tarrifs are about 1- the drug trade….stopping the flow of illegal fentanyl into the USA. 2- rebalancing the trade deficit in the favour of the USA. Because USA producers have been competing against heavily subsidised Chinese producers- even though the Chinese aren’t supposed to be subsidising their producers under a FTA.
The USA stopped subsidising their farmers and other producers and made them compete with producers who were heavily subsidised - and guess what - the trade balance got out of whack and farmers in the USA were going to the wall and their farms were disappearing because no one can compete against the bottomless pit of the ccp money printing press.
Now USA gdp is nearly rebalanced…in less than 2 yrs! Trump is a HERO! Nz could do with trump - but we’re all too busy sticking our heads in the sand and yelling orange man bad.
At least the USA will be in a better position to fight the real war that china is pushing for. We won’t.
Well, Trump's in a difficult position re tariffs trying to battle Fortress Europe and China, which always uses the power of the state to help rig international trade in their favour. The big problem China will face in the future is a working age population. Will tens of millions of Indian workers migrate to China? Mexican workers? Indonesian?
How about investigating nefarious political dealings closer home Mike.
Like Ardern, the not so bright Nicola Willis is fooling voters.
Willis not only protects the price colliding oligipolies which are causing Kiwi Battlers cost of living crisis, she is planning to create another monopoly.
Chorus owns NZs strategically vital broadband internet network. Willis is selling chorus to private interests.
Kiwi battlers can expect their internet costs to skyrocket after chorus is sold!
Willis 4 star US retirement will be assured.
Well stated, Mike. It didn't take long for the absurdity of these Trump tariffs to become apparent. The U S farmers are very efficient, but Trump has quickly made them dependent on state handouts for their survival. At the same time, he wants to take away the medical aid available to the poor under Obamacare.
To anonymous 6.07, what Trump has achieved is an conditional cessation of hostilities, not a peace deal. Big difference.
To anon 1042am
Kiwis keep doing this to themselves!
They keep letting themselves get lead by the wallet by the likes of extreme leftist media and politicians who implement climate policies that drive up the cost of food, fertilisers & fuel, not to mention artificially increasing the cost of electricity production!
Heaven forbid someone try to open a supermarket- the resource management act will single-handedly put a stop to that and if that isn’t enough of a deterrent your local council will say that there isn’t a big enough population to support a competing supermarket in your local area!
Rents to high? You can thank the insane healthy homes standards for all rental properties that mean most tenants live in places much warmer and drier than their landlords enjoy - or perhaps you could demonise the landlords and blame them for working within the system that was designed to ensure there would be plenty of private rental properties for people to choose from. (The system works really well too - as long as you don’t treat the private landlords like scum and take away the subsidies that make it worth their while to participate in the system.) did anyone notice the rental shortage started when labour demonised landlords and removed the incentives? And now the incentives are back there are plenty of private rentals again!!
Wait not finished! Nz mental green policies means we are now 100% dependent on importing our fuels from other countries- who weren’t stupid enough to sign any Paris accord. Meanwhile we have issues with aviation fuel, diesel, and just run of the mill petrol - it’s expensive and we cant pull it out of the ground ourselves - or refine it to local standards….contributing to the high prices we pay for everything!
Still not done - with loss of oil and gas and high electricity prices goes manufacturing- with all the jobs in those sectors gone the building industry struggles, all these folks start heading overseas - and suddenly there is a dearth of actual tax generating citizens to pay the salaries of the teachers, doctors, nurses and pollies - and we find ourselves in a genuine financial pickle.
Seriously NZ - pull your heads out of your leftie bums!!
The issue anon 6.42 is both left and right parties are corrupt.
H Clark took political corruption to new levels and was the driving force behind Arderns use of climate change and covid to defraud Kiwi battlers taxes.
Then along came bright and honest Luxon. He started with a hiss and a roar, highlighting NZs big problems and vowing to fix them.
Luxon unfortunately and inexplicably brought Nicola Willis in with him. Luxon would never have promoted someone as untalented amd unsuitable as Willis into the significant finance portfolio without coercion.
So who both attacked (remember the endless, now stopped, Luxon is bad articles) and coerced Luxon?
Willis and her pal Watts protection of the high cost of living and low productivity NZ oligopolies provides a clue to the answer.
And to make things worse, Willis is about to create another kiwi battler robbing industry. The sale of chorus' vital internet infrastructure will net $1b to help pay back the $181b public debt, whilst Willis runs a $12b deficit. Even Willis' maths isn't that bad... is it?
Kiwi battlers can expect their internet costs to sky rocket whilst we watch another nz politician sail off to a 4 star, post politics, permanent holiday.
Rumour has it that Willis has been seen making late night visits to H Clark's residence!
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