Trump trade dispute costs Washington cherry growers $86M
Washington cherry growers expect to lose $86 million because of trade disputes with the state’s leading trade partners.
The Washington Department of Agriculture previously estimated the losses to the cherry industry could go as high as $100 million as China pushed tariffs up to 50 percent.
The state said up to $650 million of Washington-grown cherries, wheat, apples and other crops are at risk.
President Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminum and later intellectual property in a move to improve long-term trading arrangements. China, India, Mexico and others retaliated with tariffs on identifiably American products.
Washington-grown fish and seafood, hay, wheat, dairy, apples and others were on the hit list.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion aid package to farmers affected by the dispute.
Friday, a bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide financial relief to the state’s 2,500 sweet cherry producers.
“(Cherry growers) deserve the same assistance afforded to producers of other agricultural commodities that have been negatively impacted by retaliatory tariffs,” Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, and Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Bellevue, wrote.
“Because sweet cherries are highly perishable, the season is over and damages from increased tariffs and prices are hitting growers, we urge you to implement the support our cherry growers are requesting.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2018 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Trump trade dispute costs Washington cherry growers $86M."