Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/1/18

Even though farmers are getting aid, many other segments of the U.S. economy have tales of woe they've shared with lawmakers. And members in Congress, in turn, have described the harm on constituents.

Chicken farmers in Delaware, for instance, had been finally able to reap the rewards of a trade after South Africa agreed to remove barriers to U.S. poultry exports. Now all that progress is at risk because Trump hit South Africa with tariffs on its steel exports, said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).

"I had a very difficult meeting with their trade minister," Coons said. "They're going to be justified in imposing countervailing duties that may well close the door to this newly opened market for our poultry."

Hurt for generations: Farmers just starting out are already seeing the economic strains that a life in agriculture can have. The trade war is just compounding the challenges, several farmers have said.

"For young and beginning farmers like me the stakes are even higher," Michelle Erickson-Jones, president of the Montana Grain Growers Association, said in testimony. "We are often highly leveraged, just establishing our operations, as well trying to ensure we have access to enough capital to successfully grow our operations. Increased trade tensions and market uncertainty makes our path forward and our hopes to pass the farm on to our sons less clear."

Pro Trade's Doug Palmer rounded up several real-life stories of farmers, seafood firms, food manufacturers and small businesses who have directly seen the effects that the trade war is having on their businesses.

Farmers who may be left out of aid: Several Republican House members from California (as well as several Democrats) are appealing to the Trump administration to ensure that specialty crops are not left out of trade aid.

Trump has focused most of his attention on the Midwest, but some blue-leaning states like California also heavily rely on farming and agriculture to feed Americans and the world.

"In response to the recent announcement of your mitigation proposal and its expected programs and scope, we strongly urge that specialty crop farmers be given the same forethought as other tariff-impacted commodity sectors," Reps. Jeff Denham, Devin Nunes and others say in a letter expected to be sent to Perdue. "Specifically, they should receive a share of the $12 billion mitigation funding that is adequately proportional to the damage they will face from retaliatory tariffs."