On farm tour, Smith backs Trump's tariffs, urges patience

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith said Friday that Southeast Missouri farmers are in for a �bumpy, roller-coaster ride� as a result of escalating trade disputes with China and other countries, but defended the Trump administration�s decision to enact tariffs on those nations.

Smith also said he supports President Donald Trump�s decision to provide $12 billion in emergency relief to farmers affected by the trade dispute and rising tariffs imposed by other countries in retaliation for tariffs levied by Trump.

�I am very supportive of our president,� he said during a visit to the Jackson Egg Co. farm in Cape Girardeau County. �I have trust that he knows what he is doing.�

Jackson Egg Co. co-owner Adam Birk, left, gives U.S. Rep. Jason Smith a tour of his free-range chicken farm Friday in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

The 8th District, Republican congressman from Salem, Missouri, said the trade dispute is �having a huge impact� on farmers. But he said Trump wants �time� to allow his trade policies to work.

Some farm-state Republican lawmakers have dismissed the bailout plan, declaring farmers want markets for their crops, not payoffs for lost sales and lower prices.

But Smith said both he and Trump want �open markets that are fair and free for our farmers.�

A chicken perches at Jackson Egg Co. on Friday in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

Trump wants fair trade with nations such as China, the congressman said.

�Our farmers can compete with anyone in the world with a level playing field,� he said.

Right now, it is not a level playing field, he said.

�The Chinese have over 10,000 tariffs. It is not like it just started. They have been treating us unfairly for a long time,� Smith told reporters.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, left, views a coop Friday while visiting Jackson Egg Co. in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

Smith said Trump�s goal is to convince other nations to enact fair trade policies, which would benefit U.S. exports.

�I think the president is making the right decision,� Smith said.

�The president is a negotiator,� said Smith, pointing to recent discussions between Trump and European leaders, who have agreed to open talks to tear down trade barriers between the United States and the European Union (EU).

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, left, talks to Jackson Egg Co. co-owner Adam Birk on Friday while visiting the free-range chicken farm in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

Trump said this week the EU had agreed to buy �a lot of soybeans� and increase its imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. And the two agreed to resolve a dispute over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Smith welcomed the news. He said the decision would �help increase� the market for U.S. exports, including beef. Smith said the European Union, for example, has agreed to lift a quota on U.S. beef imports that had been in place since 2009.

Smith, who accompanied Trump on his recent visit to Kansas City, Missouri, has been a staunch supporter of the president. Smith told reporters the president �cares about Missouri.�

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, left, views a coop with Jackson Egg Co. co-owner Adam Birk on Friday while visiting the free-range chicken farm in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

During his visit to the Jackson farm, one of several stops Friday on his agriculture tour, Smith toured the chicken operation with Adam Birk, co-owner of the business.

The congressman listened to Birk talk about the operation as he stood in one of the facilities housing more than 1,800 chickens who are nearing egg-laying age.

In the next structure, Smith and Birk carried on their discussion amid a multitude of noisy hens of egg-laying age who constantly pecked at visitors. Even the congressman was not immune as hens milled around him.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, left, talks to Jackson Egg Co. co-owner Adam Birk on Friday while visiting the free-range chicken farm in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

Birk said he sells eggs to grocery stores in the region and as far away as St. Louis. At this point, he is not exporting eggs.

But Birk said the trade dispute is hurting those producers who export their eggs.

�It definitely affects the industry,� he said.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith visits Jackson Egg Co. on Friday in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

For now, Birk is focused on growing his business and providing eggs from cage-free hens and from another several hundred pasture-raised hens.

The farm produces some 18,000 eggs a week.

�That is a lot of eggs,� Smith said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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