Ag Interests Want Section 301 Tariffs Suspended, Reduced or Removed

Almost 40 agricultural trade groups, along with two port and perishable logistics trade groups, asked the U.S. trade representative to reduce, lift or suspend tariffs so that China would lift its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. crops. “Tariff relief could not come at a more important time,” the trade groups said in a letter. “Rural America and small businesses are facing significant challenges due to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, logistical and supply chain disruptions, record levels of inflation, and the increasing impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine. "

They said lifting Section 232 and aircraft-related tariffs with Europe and the U.K. helped, since it resulted in the removal of tariffs on some food and beverage exports. Signers included the American Association of Port Authorities, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.