U.S. farmer laments loss of China market due to tariffs

CHICAGO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. tariff policies are posing serious challenges to the American soybean industry, with market losses and growing uncertainty threatening broader economic fallout, a U.S. farmer told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China has long been a key export market for American soybeans. "Fifty percent of all of American soybeans were exported to China," said Corey Goodhue, a farmer from the Midwestern state of Iowa.

"The more of the market we lose, we have to find a new home for those acres (of soybeans), and that's difficult. It's limited where else we can take them right now," he said.

Goodhue called on policymakers to provide more certainty in the market. "Different tariff ideas every day, every week … how do we plan as a business for that?" he added.

Iowa, one of U.S. major agricultural hubs, is already feeling the pinch. Goodhue noted that falling farm revenues are setting off a chain reaction across local communities, including reduced investment by cooperatives, slower commercial activity, and layoffs at related businesses.■