Doubts on trade deal and pandemic worry farmers

"Worried farmers and business groups are urging the United States and China to fulfill their obligations under the first stage of the trade agreement, even as the coronavirus scrambles its assumptions," April Simpson reports for Stateline.

"Whether it's in agriculture, manufactured goods or energy, neither country is on track to meet its obligations of the Phase One trade deal signed six months ago. Then, as soon as the deal went into effect a month later, the pandemic spread, and reduced demand for many agricultural products."

Soybean growers took the biggest hit because China is the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans. North Dakota soybean farmer Tyler Stafslien told Simpson, "I'm worse off today than I was before the trade war, and I don’t see an end in sight."

Stafslien is just one example, Simpson writes: "Buffeted by a two-year trade war, followed by a disappointing — at least so far — trade deal and then a worldwide pandemic, there aren’t a lot of farmers, or rural communities, feeling flush right now." Her story recounts the trade war.