Contemporary Republican Trade Policy

US agribusiness has worked particularly hard over many years to cultivate overseas export markets.  That’s what farmers do – they plant, nurture, cultivate and reap the harvest.  They make money if they're good at it.  That is how capitalism works.  As a consequence, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, China and others have gleefully purchased soybeans, corn, pork, cheese and more from US producers.  Not so much anymore. 

After the Republican administration raised taxes on imported steel and aluminum our major trading partners responded in-kind with taxes of their own on American-produced agricultural products.    The fallout is that prices of these commodities have dropped like a dead duck shot from the sky and long established US export markets are now placed in great peril.  Hard-working agribusiness in the United States is taking it in the shorts.  And the entire obscenity has been inflicted-upon US farmers and ranchers by Republicans.

Yes, you read that correctly.  A Republican administration did this. 

Sure, the Republicans have characterized this as unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations.  I call BS - a steaming pile of Orwellian doublespeak.  There is no getting around the fact that this was all a Republican idea from the start. The result is that most everything from apple exports, soybeans, pork, cheese, orange juice, sorghum and even whiskey have been impacted.  In only a few short months President Trump and the Republicans have made sizeable gains in their efforts to fray and possibly break trade relationships assiduously-fostered over many years.  The end game to all of this economic genius is that markets previously supplied by US producers may seek suppliers from Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and elsewhere. 

Astonishingly, the answer to this stake in the heart of free trade is that Republican government has decided to use depression era Roosevelt administration legislation to make billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in welfare payments to farmers to assuage their economic loss. 

Yes, you also read that correctly.  The first wave of welfare payments started with applications beginning last Tuesday with a down payment of $12 billion in welfare payments that Republicans will make to producers who have suffered financial loss at the hands of their tax increase.   Don’t take my word for it - I received the email heralding the arrival of the gravy train. 

And because China is the largest foreign purchaser of US Treasuries - in a flash of economic brilliance - the Republican government is going to borrow from China to pay farmers not to sell soybeans to China.  Why would anyone in their right mind sell soybeans to China when you could instead embrace this novel Republican approach thereby setting a new standard for fiscal virtuosity.  In the meantime, orders from China — the number one foreign purchaser of US soybeans — have plunged faster than driving a tractor over a cliff.  Just in case you haven't yet had your fill of this theater of the absurd here is what we know:  

Republicans now believe in central planning
Republicans no longer believe in free markets  
Republicans have cast-off their free trade pedigree 
Republicans instead embrace the picking of winners and losers  
Republicans sold the seed corn to borrow for handouts to their winners
Republicans are no longer the party of Reagan and certainly not your dad's GOP

All of this winning is absolutely exhausting.  Dontcha think?