With the race for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio still more than a year away, the current climate for farmers is a growing issue.
Former U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, the Democrat in the race, said there’s no question Ohio farmers have been hurt by tariffs and ineffective federal trade policy. China was a major customer of soybeans produced in Ohio, but since the 20% tariff was put in place, the country hasn't purchased any soybeans from the U.S. Brown said farmers should be made whole.
“If you are going to put farmers out of business with tariffs, with cutting off their markets, sure, we owe something to those farmers," Brown said in an interview, adding he has one big question of President Trump: “Why didn’t he let the market work?"
Brown questions aid for Argentina
Ohio farmers haven't sold any soybeans to China, their largest supplier, due to tariffs. Instead, China has been buying soybeans from Argentina. Brown said he wants to know why the Trump administration is now giving Argentina $20 billion.
“You said to farmers, ‘Sorry, your biggest market for soybeans, we’ve taken away so here’s some money to make up for it but farmers want to make a living in the free market system," Brown said.
Brown is running against current U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who has announced he'll seek re-election. Husted’s office said they were not able to make him available for an interview.
His office sent a written statement reads in part: “My record shows that I support Ohio’s farmers and consumers. I voted for the working family tax cuts, which allows farmers and job creators to immediately expense investments in new factories, capital investments in machinery and equipment, and in research and development—all of which Democrats opposed.“
