Oregon farmers hit hard by U.S.-China trade war
Producers of beef, wheat and other exports are feeling the pinch of dispute
MARQUAM, Ore. — Rancher Jerome Rosa sat in his mud-spattered pickup truck, glumly watching some of his cows resting on a grassy slope in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley.
Rosa, the executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, told state lawmakers a few days earlier about the disruptions to Oregon’s beef exports because of the U.S.-China trade war. Also testifying were the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the head of Oregon wheat producers’ associations and a hazelnut expert.
Sales of U.S. beef and wheat to China have all but halted. The trade conflicts affect Oregon agricultural producers more than other states because about 40 percent of Oregon’s agricultural exports head abroad, compared to 20 percent for the rest of the U.S., Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor told lawmakers.
Some relief came Wednesday, when the U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal that will lower or eliminate tariffs and expand market access on farm and other products.
President Donald Trump’s pullout from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017 had created a 10 percent tariff disadvantage in Japan for American wheat compared to other suppliers like Canada and Australia, Blake Rowe, CEO of the Oregon Wheat Commission and the Oregon Wheat Growers League, told legislators. Oregon wheat producers had taken the setback personally because Oregon growers established relations with Japan in 1949 and opened a Tokyo wheat office in 1956, Rowe said.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, welcomed Wednesday’s agreement. Around 90 percent of Oregon’s wheat is exported.
“Japan is a top market for Oregon wheat, and represents great opportunities to grow markets for beef, blueberries, potatoes and wine, among other Oregon products,” Walden said.
Oregon is not alone in feeling the pinch. Ports in California saw a 30 percent decrease in exports to China in 2018, including a 97 percent decline in soybean exports, the directors of the West Coast’s main ports told Trump on Monday. They warned of “irredeemable economic harm” from the trade conflict.
Low global wheat prices of about $5 per bushel have prompted Oregon wheat farmer Tim Hawkins to carefully maintain his three aging combines instead of replacing them at a cost of $500,000 each.
“That’s something that you really have to analyze: what you’ve got as to what you would like to have,” said Hawkins, whose farm is in northeastern Oregon near Pendleton. He believes other market forces, such as global supply, are more behind depressed prices than the trade wars.
But Rowe told lawmakers that the trade wars have resulted in slower wheat sales, increased inventory and lower wheat prices.
Back on his cattle ranch, Rosa said that waiting for promised benefits from America’s international trade renegotiations is “like being at the bottom of a pool holding your breath and hoping that you’re going to be able to go up and get a breath of air.”
“We’ve gone from what was a very good time in our industry, to the last three years that have been extremely painful, not only for beef but also for dairy and also for many other crops,” Rosa said.
