In the minds of Pennsylvanian farmers, the idea of an American capitalist economy, a system of creating prosperity through the free exchange of goods and services governed by clear ethical rules dictated by the market itself, would be blurring.
Right now, the main US dairy producing states in the country: California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and Pennsylvania, are evaluating the damage to their business caused by the protectionist policy of the Trump administration. They are also making comparisons with a similar situation their European Union peers are facing.
The U.S. National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), “the voice of dairy farmers in our nation’s capital,” is not very comfortable with the Trade War that the Trump administration waged against China and believes the dispute with the Asian superpower could have been handled differently.
As an American institution, the organization acknowledged Beijing’s unfair trade practices, but the dairy farmer’s discontent is noteworthy because they believe “that it should have been done in another way”
The NMPF actively addresses policies related to the pricing of milk, both in national and international markets, it does not know how to explain to its members how, after being a nation driving the free market at a global level, the United States is now a defender of protectionism and that it has launched a tariff war.
Current situation
The discomfort of Pennsylvanian farmers with the handling of the international market by the Trump administration is based on production statistics that are directly proportional to the problem.
Pennsylvania saw its 17th consecutive month of lower production that output was below a year ago, down 68 million pounds or 7.6% from a year ago, as 35,000 fewer cows were milked and output per cow was off 15 pounds.
However, at the national level the status is positive, a situation in which farmers are making statements because they have lost one of their best buyers: China.
Jaime Castaneda, Vice President of the US National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), in a recent interview with local media, said that U.S. dairy farmers, one of the sectors most affected by the trade war between Washington and Beijing, highlight the damage suffered and face with fear the dragging economic uncertainty.
A graphic fall
The U.S. dairy federation explained that during the first six months of 2018 exports to China had risen almost 20% over the previous year.
“However, as soon as the tariffs were imposed (in May 2018), dairy exports to China dropped. In the second half of the year, exports fell 32 percent, despite the fact that China was buying 10 percent more dairy products overall in,” said Jaime Castaneda.
If the focus is extended to a whole year, from July 2018 to July 2019, the impact is even more damaging: exports to China plunged by 42 %. That is the reason for the discomfort.
Translated by: José Espinoza
Noticias Newswire
