August 20, 2019
President Donald Trump has pushed trade into the daily headlines. Here’s some of the latest trade news we’re seeing.
According to a report by Bloomberg Economics’ Dan Hanson, Jamie Rush and Tom Orlik, uncertainty over trade could lower world gross domestic product by 0.6% in 2021, relative to a scenario with no trade war, Bloomberg reported. That’s double the direct impact of the tariffs themselves and the equivalent of $585 billion off the International Monetary Fund’s estimated world GDP of $97 trillion in 2021.
Trump officials said they are preparing for another round of negotiations, Markets Insider reported, which boosted markets.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a crowd at Minnesota Farmfest that the ball was in China’s court and that he was hopeful negotiations would continue. – The Farmer
Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish said he and many farmers have supported Trump’s desire to hold China accountable for its trade practices. However, using tariffs has had a “devastating” impact on farmers and the trade aid isn’t covering losses. – Newsweek
China suspended agricultural imports from the U.S. amid the trade war, cutting U.S. soybean growers off from their leading export market. China is looking north for replacements, meeting with Russia officials to gauge soybean availability. – South China Morning News
Brazilian farmers are benefitting from the dispute as soybean shipments to China jumped by almost a third last year. – South China Morning News
The trade war has not only impacted U.S. soybean shipments, but also oil and liquefied natural gas as well. And it’s not over as Trump announced the imposition of an additional 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. These were due to take effect Sept. 1, but have been delayed to December. – CNBC
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