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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2018)
September 19, 2018 The Skanner MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE EDITION Page 7 cont’d from pg 6 for about 60 percent of their overseas sales. These tariffs make U.S. soybeans prohibitive- ly expensive in China. That means lost sales for American farmers. Separately Trump has enraged U.S. allies like Canada and the Europe- an Union by declaring their steel and aluminum a threat to America’s na- tional security as justifi- cation for slapping taxes on them. On yet another trade front, the president would raise the stakes considerably if he car- ries out a threat to tax $340 billion in import- ed cars, trucks and auto parts — action that would raise prices for vehicles Americans buy. What’s more, Trump has threatened to kick Canada out of a North American trade bloc if it doesn’t cave in to pres- sure to open its dairy market, among other things. Trump is running into resistance in pock- ets across the country. American farmers who rely on exports are fac- ing retaliation from U.S. Special Business Edition trading partners, which depresses export sales and prices of agricultur- al commodities. Manu- facturers that buy steel and aluminum are being hurt by higher prices and supply shortages re- sulting from the tariffs on imported metals. Corporations fear that Trump’s drive to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement will disrupt the supply chains that they’ve spent the past 24 years build- ing across the United States, Canada and Mex- ico. If the trade war with China further escalates, consumers would face higher prices at the mall and online. On the basis of public opinion surveys, at least, the president’s approach poses political risks. A poll released Aug. 24 by The Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 61 percent of Amer- icans disapproved of the president’s handling of trade negotiations. “The Trump adminis- tration has handed Dem- ocrats in the midterms at least a talking point, not just with farmers but with consumers,” said Mickey Kantor, the top American trade negotia- tor under President Bill Clinton and now a part- ner at the Mayer Brown law firm. Missouri’s embattled Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill, is try- ing to link her Republi- can challenger, Trump ally Josh Hawley, to a nail manufacturing plant that says it might have to close because the Trump steel tariffs have driven up its costs. Likewise in North Da- kota, Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is run- ning ads tying her Re- publican challenger, Rep. Kevin Cramer, to Trump’s “reckless trade war.” Besides unveiling $12 billion in aid to farmers hurt by the conflicts, Trump is seeking to reach trade deals to show that his brass-knuckles approach will succeed in the end. He has said he expects to sign a deal with South Korea later this month during the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier this month, he announced an agreement with Mexico to replace NAFTA — a move intended to pres- sure Canada to embrace a new North American ac- cord on terms favorable to the United States. Plans are underway for a delegation from China AP PHOTO/NATI HARNIK, FILE MBE 2018 Trade In this July 24, 2018, file photo a barn with a banner reading “Trump” is seen behind a field of soy beans in Ashland, Neb. The U.S. and China have imposed import taxes on $50 billion worth of each other’s products. to resume trade discus- sions with the Trump team as early as this week. In addition, Trump says his team has started trade discussions with Japan and has received interest from India. For the president, the bet is that America’s trading partners will ca- pitulate promptly to his demands, rather than delay negotiations in the hope that Democrats will take control of the House and possibly the Senate and leave the president in a weaker bargaining position. “There is some pres- sure to get results,” said Philip Levy, senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a White House economist under President George W. Bush. “They need to do something where they can say, ‘Hey, this differ- ent approach actually works.’ “ Trump is also relying on the loyalty of his sup- porters in rural Ameri- ca. He has called farmers “patriots” who are will- ing to absorb economic pain in the short run to buy time for him to nego- tiate trade deals more ad- vantageous to the United States. Approval for Trump’s performance is still run- ning at 53 percent in rural areas, compared with 39 percent overall, according to an NPR/ Marist poll released last week. Even if they’re worried about the trade disputes, many rural Americans support Trump’s stands on so- cial issues such as im- migration — a sign that the president may have enough political leeway to drive forward with his hard line on trade. “Trump,” said chief global strategist Greg Valliere of Horizon In- vestments, “has a lot of Teflon in the farm belt.” AP Economics Writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.