China, in his words · First term · № 49

On China

Threatened "great and fast economic retaliation" if China targeted U.S. farmers

“China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me. What China does not understand is that these people are great patriots and fully understand that..... .....China has been taking advantage of the United States on Trade for many years. They also know that I am the one that knows how to stop it. There will be great and fast economic retaliation against China if our farmers, ranchers and/or industrial workers are targeted!”
Said
, Two consecutive posts on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)
Subject
tariffs on U.S. farmers
Threat
Economic threat
Topic
Trade & tariffs
Era
First term

What the record showed

China's retaliatory tariffs remained in place: by February 2020 they averaged 21 percent, up from 8.0 percent before the trade war, and covered 58.3 percent of imports from the United States, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The U.S. Department of Agriculture compensated farmers through its Market Facilitation Program, which the Government Accountability Office reported paid about $8.6 billion for 2018 and $14.4 billion for 2019, the latter to about 644,000 farming operations. On December 3, 2019, Trump said, "I gave them $28 billion over a 2-year period."

Sources

  1. Tweet: 'China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Sep 18, 2018
  2. Tweet: '.....China has been taking advantage of the United States on Trade for many years.' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Sep 18, 2018
  3. US-China Trade War Tariffs: An Up-to-Date Chart Peterson Institute for International Economics, Aug 29, 2019
  4. USDA Market Facilitation Program: Information on Payments for 2019 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Aug 21, 2020
  5. Remarks Following a Meeting With Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and an Exchange With Reporters in London, United Kingdom The American Presidency Project, Dec 3, 2019