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Trade Dispute With China Worries Georgia Farmers

June 18th, 2018

Farmers in Georgia rely heavily on exports. Some 20 percent of their output is sold overseas, according to the Georgia Farm Bureau. Gerald Long, the group’s president, says many of those products, such as cotton and pecans, end up in China.

Courtesy of the Georgia Cotton Commission

Georgia farmers are paying close attention to Chinese tariffs set to be imposed next month on U.S. goods.

Over the weekend, the Chinese government announced tariffs on $50 billion in American goods to take effect July 6. It’s the latest development in the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

Farmers in Georgia rely heavily on exports. Some 20 percent of their output is sold overseas, according to the Georgia Farm Bureau. Gerald Long, the group’s president, says a lot of those products end up in China.

“Peanuts, pecans — the Chinese really love pecans, cotton. You know, we’re the No. 2 producer of cotton in the nation. So, all of those are very, very critical to we farmers in the state of Georgia,” he said.

Long says Georgia’s export market to China has boomed in recent decades with the help of Georgia’s busy coastal ports in Savannah and Brunswick.

He says he’s talked to farmers across the state who are worried that escalating trade tensions with China will impact their bottom lines.

Still, Long hopes the trade talks preserve a free, open international market for Georgia farmers, but one where the U.S. is on equal footing with other countries.

“We are in a world trade business. That’s something we know we have to deal with. So, it’s very important that we have a free trade environment that’s on a level playing field,” he said.

Long says he’s heartened that Georgia farmers have one of their own in Washington.

He’s got confidence that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, himself a former farmer, will help President Donald Trump work out a resolution that helps the agriculture industry.