- 05.15.2019
Tester on Latest Round of Trump Tariffs
“We can’t continue down this road and expect family farm agriculture to survive”
(U.S. Senate) – In the wake of newly-announced tariffs on Chinese goods, U.S. Senator Jon Tester slammed the Trump Administration’s move to further restrict access to international markets for the nearly 27,000 farm and ranch operations in Montana:
“As the only working farmer in the Senate, I hear every day from my neighbors in rural Montana that President Trump’s unnecessary trade war is costing them money and threatening their ability to stay in business. Even the President’s own staff admitted that American farmers and the public are paying for these escalating tariffs. President Trump and his Republican colleagues gave a $2 trillion handout to corporations and millionaires while taking money out of the pockets of working families. We can’t continue down this road and expect family farm agriculture to survive.”
Tester discussed the tariffs’ impact on Montana’s agriculture economy on MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier today. WATCH VIDEO HERE.
President Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods late last week. China then retaliated on Monday by increasing tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods. President Trump is now considering levying tariffs on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese exports to the U.S.
Tester has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s trade war and has pushed to hold the Administration accountable by passing legislation to give Congress a role in imposing tariffs. He has heard about the impact of these tariffs firsthand, holding in-person listening sessions with Montana farmers, ranchers, and small business owners about the consequences of this trade war. The panelists told Tester that the tariffs are threatening to eliminate their access to international markets and driving down the price of agricultural commodities, while increasing the cost of building materials.