Washington, DC—Today, Rep. Ron Kind released the following statement after President Trump signed the first phase of a trade deal with China:
“Today’s actions will not erase the burden farmers in Wisconsin and across the country have been forced to carry due to the President’s reckless trade war for nearly two years. During those two years, Congress has had little to no input in making sure this agreement was the best deal possible for Wisconsinites. While this deal is welcomed relief for our farmers, I’m concerned that this deal is not fully binding like a traditional trade agreement and will lack the transparency and enforceability needed to ensure China will uphold their end of the deal. The President has frequently promised that his negotiations would lead to the best trade agreements for our farmers, but his track record proves different. I will be reviewing the text of this deal closely and monitoring the results of this trade deal in the coming months to see if this deal holds up.”
Since this trade war began:
- Wisconsin’s agricultural exports to China have dropped. In the first four months of 2019 exports fell by 25%.
- Wisconsin businesses, farmers, and manufacturers have paid $340 million due to retaliatory tariffs.
- Wisconsinites have paid $894 million in tariffs.
- Wisconsin’s farming and manufacturing communities have continued to struggle. In 2019, Wisconsin saw the largest manufacturing job decline since the recession, while Wisconsin dairy farms declined by 10% in 2019, breaking the record of farms lost set in 2018.
