Kansas Farmers “Struggling,” “Aren’t Going to Have That Great Year” as GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Embrace Tariffs

Kansas Farmers “Struggling,” “Aren’t Going to Have That Great Year” as GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Embrace Tariffs

New reporting from the Topeka Capital-Journal reveals that Kansas soybean farmers are “struggling to find a market” for their product as Trump’s costly tariffs have effectively closed the Chinese market to American farmers, leading to there being “not enough market left in the rest of the world” for soybeans grown in Kansas. This comes as Kansas soybean farmers are still reeling from the previous chaotic trade war, which cost soybean farmers tens of billions of dollars as China’s share of U.S. soybean exports plummeted from 62% to 18%.

Despite this, Kansas Republicans running for governor have embraced the Administration’s unpopular, cost-raising agenda, with the Kansas Reflector noting “Kansas Republicans have been loathe to publicly criticize Trump’s trade agenda.”

“Kansas Republicans are caught in such an extreme race-to-the-right that they can’t stand up for Kansas farmers on an issue as clear cut as them being able to sell their crops,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Johanna Warshaw. “At a time when farmers are still suffering from the impacts of the last trade war, the Kansas GOP field for governor is proving just how extreme and out-of-step they are with the state.”

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