Senator calls on Trump to stop false claims regarding purchases of U.S. ag products

tamy-baldwin

Senator Tammy Baldwin is calling on President Trump to stop making false claims regarding China purchasing U.S. ag products. The Wisconsin Democrat penned a letter to Trump claiming the President’s “exaggerated claims about export opportunities” make doing business in agriculture difficult.

Last month, the President claimed Mexico had agreed to immediately begin buying large quantities of agricultural products from U.S. farmers. More recently, Trump claimed that China will buy “a tremendous amount of food and agricultural product” but has so far offered no evidence or details to support the claim. Trump made the China claims following a meeting with China, where both sides agreed to reopen trade negotiations.

However, China has not confirmed the purchases and trade experts say no agreement on ag products exists. U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped from $25 billion in 2015 to a projected $6 billion this year. Baldwin notes the impact of the trade war as part of the reason Wisconsin has lost more than 1,600 dairy farms since Trump took office.