PULLMAN, Wash – The ripple effects of trade tariffs are being felt beyond importers in the U.S., as export-driven businesses, particularly wheat growers, express growing concern over rising prices related to these tariffs.
This apprehension was palpable during a recent trade delegation tour across the Pacific Northwest, consisting of mill operators and grain buyers from four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Typically, such visits occur at harvest time, with Washington state being the leading wheat-exporting state in the nation. Approximately 90% of the dryland wheat produced in Washington is transported via trucks or shipped by river barge to west coast ports, making these visits crucial for maintaining strong international relationships, especially among buyers.
However, the current trade climate is far from routine.
The delegation visited amid heightened concerns due to President Donald Trump imposing a nearly 20% tariff on imports from these Southeast Asian countries, prompting fears they could retaliate with their own tariffs. This retaliation could significantly increase costs for American farmers.
Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, which sponsored the trade tour, pointed out the significance of the long-established relationships farmers have with their international customers, emphasizing that these bonds have been cultivated over decades through various political administrations.
Chumrau stated, “The commission was founded in 1958 and we’ve weathered many political changes while continuing to prioritize our relationships with customers.”
Despite the uncertainties surrounding U.S. trade policy, Chumrau expressed optimism about sustaining strong demand for wheat from Washington growers.
Yet, underneath this optimistic facade, many in the farming community are experiencing anxiety. Farmers and trade organizations throughout the U.S. are striving to reassure foreign buyers that the U.S. is still a favorable place for business, despite the current political tension and uncertainties.
Jim Moyer, who has been part of a wheat farming family in eastern Washington since 1891, stated that American producers need stability. He expressed concern that long-time trading partners may begin to seek alternatives if the uncertainty continues.
“It isn’t that they will levy retaliatory tariffs necessarily, they might, but that they might just go someplace else,” Moyer noted, highlighting the need for reassurance in trade agreements.
In response to the shifting trade landscape, the Trump administration has indicated that it could provide relief aid to farmers as it did following the trade war in 2018 during Trump’s initial term. Yet as the wheat harvest season nears closure, anxiety remains prominent in the Pacific Northwest.
The region displays the U.S. government’s efforts to bolster exports, ranging from the comprehensive barge system on the Snake and Columbia rivers to the collaboration between U.S.D.A. labs and scientists at Washington State University.
During their tour, the recent trade delegation witnessed new experimental seed varieties being tested at Washington State University, as well as a test kitchen utilized for crafting artisan breads and noodles, both of which are increasingly popular.
Despite the visit’s significance, none of the delegates participated in on-the-record interviews with NPR. Several attendees were hesitant to discuss current trade dynamics, especially after witnessing the abrupt firing of a director at a federal lab visited by the delegates, which added to the local unease about job security among federal employees.
Tom Kammerzell, a local farmer with deep family roots in eastern Washington’s Palouse region, approached the topic of trade war with caution. “I’m not gonna get into politics,” he quipped in response to inquiries about potential U.S. moves toward protectionism. “It’s worth paying attention to but these things ebb and flow too.”
Kammerzell’s family history in farming extends back to 1855, long before the advent of contemporary trade issues. Although this year’s wheat yield has surpassed expectations amidst variable weather and a dry spring, local farmers are facing economic challenges due to a global wheat surplus, with a current market price of about $5 per bushel, falling short of the break-even point of $6.50 per bushel.
“It doesn’t take a wizard to figure out that we’re underwater,” Kammerzell said, recognizing the difficult financial landscape.
Moreover, Trump’s tariffs are driving up costs for essential farming resources like fertilizer, most of which is imported from Canada. Coupled with lingering inflation and ongoing supply chain disruptions from the pandemic, equipment costs have soared. Kammerzell pointed out that a new combine harvester can now reach as much as $1 million.
“It’s going to be tough, bottom line,” he concluded. “Thank God for crop insurance.”
Since the trade war erupted following President Trump’s so-called liberation day in May, his administration has maintained that American farmers will benefit in the long run from new trade agreements prioritizing U.S. interests.
However, discussions with farmers across several states reveal that confidence is waning. The ongoing shifts in tariffs and trade agreements have created an environment of uncertainty, with new policy announcements often made publicly without formal agreements emerging.
Moyer, who also has experience as a retired university agronomist, left the trade delegation with a sense of reassurance regarding the demand for local wheat, but acknowledged the pressing concern of navigating an increasingly unpredictable agricultural landscape.
“We’re in a period of two or three years of being in an agricultural recession,” he remarked, summing up the prevailing sentiment among farmers in the region.
image source from：npr
