$60 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports that President Donald Trump announced Thursday could have a significant impact on Hoosier farmers.
Melanie Fitzpatrick is the Senior Director of Communications for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers. She says if China retaliates with a tariff on American soybeans, people there will be less likely to buy them.
"These latest measures by the administration further exacerbate and multiply the concerns of Hoosier farmers from the steel and aluminum tariffs," Fitzpatrick says. "They really concern us in terms of making the economic situation of Hoosier farmers and rural communities even more uncertain."
Hoosier farmers produce one third of all US soybeans, and over half are exported.
A Chinese state-run tabloid singled out American soybeans as a potential target for retaliation in response to President Trump's tariffs.
Fitzpatrick says if China moves forward with soybean tariffs, already low prices would drop even further.