Flooded Farmers Face Even More Difficult Road Ahead
Recent floods are increasing pain caused by Trump’s tariffs
International trade is a critical part of our modern world. In 2018, there was a rise in protectionist policies and higher tariffs. The impact of these import duties continues to pop up in unexpected places. After nearly a year of writing about tariffs and trade, I continue to find new and unforeseen ways that this trade policy is impacting the lives of consumers and farmers.
This week the topic is the massive floods that cover the land between Kansas City to Sioux Falls. This includes the Mississippi Delta all the way up to the Dakotas. The situation is a mess. Roads, rail, and waterways are shut down. People are leaving their houses in boats and ethanol and feed plants throughout the region are struggling to open. Plus, spring is when farmers prepare for the 2019 planting, which isn’t possible with flooded fields. Weather forecasters are calling for two more weeks of rain, so this situation could get much worse.
In agriculture, the weather and the tariffs intersect in two places. Farmers can’t control the weather. However bad weather is causing grain silos to flood. To extract the grain, the steel walls are damaged. Replacing the steel is expensive because of an import tariff on steel. The floods are also…
