Federal Job cuts….
Tarrif’s….
Immigration crack down….
ALL these things ARE inflicting HIURT on Red Republican State’s…
And?
For those who voted FOR their President?
You’ve gotten the Presidential ‘Finger’….
Republican lawmakers in Congress just KEEP letting their voters chew on shit sandwiches ….
That they deserve, eh?
Republicans in Washington have spent weeks dismissing concerns about President Donald Trump’s tariffs or arguing they’re just a negotiating tactic. But now with major tariffs kicking in on the country’s two largest trade partners, some are starting to publicly worry.
“I’m concerned,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said of the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico that went into effect Tuesday after midnight. “I’m concerned.”
They and dozens of other GOP lawmakers represent states with major agriculture industries that are among the first targets of trade retaliation from Ottawa and Mexico City. The Canadian government has already disclosed more than $20 billion worth of U.S. goods it plans to slap with higher tariffs, including food products such as poultry, beef, fish and yogurt. The fallout for ag producers, a traditionally conservative-leaning industry, will be severe. And it’s prompting Republicans in those states to take on an uncomfortable position in the party right now — questioning, albeit quietly, a major plank of Trump’s agenda.
The agriculture industry lost $26 billion from retaliatory tariffs in 2018 and 2019 — the first time Trump launched a trade war — according to the Agriculture Department, with soybean, sorghum and pork producers facing the biggest losses. While USDA stepped in with billions in direct payments to farmers to help them weather the fallout, that funding may be harder to access in Trump’s second term, as the administration seeks to cut federal spending….
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Agricultural exports have become an increasingly important revenue source for American farmers over the past 25 years, surging from $57.3 billion in 1998 to $174 billion in 2023, according to the Agriculture Department.
Consumers rely on imports from trading partners like Mexico and Canada to have access to specialty crops like seasonal fruits and vegetables, spirits and beer. And farmers require imports of materials like potash, a mineral used to make fertilizer, and steel or plastic for farm machinery and equipment, which are not produced in large enough quantities within the U.S. to meet the domestic demand.
“You cannot export a potash mine,” said Jamie Tronnes, the executive director of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, a group that pushes for stronger ties between the U.S. and Canada. “It’s in the ground [in Canada]. You can’t just get it.”…
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Democrats, desperately searching for a political message since the November elections, are already sensing an opportunity to hammer Republicans on the economic fallout.
The stock markets slipped Tuesday morning on the trade news, and are lower than when Trump took office in January. Overall consumer sentiment declined in February. And inflation is holding steady.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) pointed out that Trump campaigned on lowering prices after years of stubborn inflation and high housing costs. Instead, many are bracing to pay more.
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