MPLS Fed Chief Kashkari: Tariffs Impacting Minnesota Soybeans

UNDATED (WJON News) -- Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari says U-S tariffs and retaliatory tariffs could have a major impact on Minnesota agriculture.

Kashkari says he heard from an ag leader who said,

"Even if there's a ten percent tariff from China on soybeans, zero Minnesota soybeans will go to China because it's a competitive global market, it's a commodity. They will have to go someplace else."

China is the largest importer of Minnesotan soybeans.

Kashkari says there's no doubt tariffs push prices up and economic activity down. He was a guest Sunday on C-B-S’ “Face the Nation.”

The nonpartisan Minnesota Soybean Growers Association issued the following statement after President Trump declared the U.S. trade deficit a national emergency and placed tariffs on many of U.S. soy’s largest trading partners.

“Soybeans are Minnesota’s top ag export – about 60% of our crop is sent to international markets. To damage those relationships that we’ve spent decades building would be devastating to not just farmer profitability, but rural and urban communities across Minnesota. While we gear up for the upcoming planting season, we strongly urge the administration to work with our trading partners to de-escalate the situation in a timely fashion.”

Minnesota is the nation’s fourth-largest agricultural exporting state, valued at $10 billion annually. Soybean exports in Minnesota account for over 25% of the state’s total exports, equating to about $2 billion in sales each year.

Roughly one in four rows of Minnesota soybeans is sent to China, and the state’s overall agricultural exports have increased by more than 300% in the past 25 years.

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During the 2018 trade war with China, U.S. agriculture experienced over $27 billion in losses, with soybeans comprising 71% of those losses.

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