Cape soybean farmer: Trade war hurts agriculture, costs jobs

The trade war with China has hurt agriculture, Cape Girardeau area soybean farmer Matt McCrate said Monday.

McCrate, past president and board member of the Missouri Soybean Association, voiced concern about the escalating trade war during a roundtable discussion with Missouri business and agriculture leaders hosted by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in St. Louis, according to a news release.

�We�re looking at billions of dollars of loss in Missouri because of this trade war,� McCaskill, D-Mo., said in the release.

�One in three rows of beans in Missouri goes to China � it�s a huge export location for Missouri agriculture,� the senator said.

McCrate said in the news release �you�re talking $212 billion in lost earnings for workers and businesses already.�

He added, �You�re talking 300,000 jobs that will probably have to go elsewhere because of a lack of business because Missouri soybeans are the number one export to China. ... And although we�re getting offered a band-aid (sic) package for one year, we would much prefer free trade.�

McCaskill told business and agriculture leaders �we�ve got to get this fixed� because the markets are not going to come back right away.

McCaskill has called on President Donald Trump�s administration to end the trade war that �shuts our farmers and ranchers out of critical markets,� the news release stated.

But U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a staunch supporter of Trump, has urged Southeast Missouri farmers to be patient even though they are in for what he called a �bumpy, roller-coaster ride.�

The 8th District, Republican congressman said during a recent visit to a Cape Girardeau County farm, Trump�s goal is to convince other nations to enact fair trade policies, which would benefit U.S. exports.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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