Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICUTLURE, 9/24/18

Chinese retaliatory tariffs on a host of U.S. agricultural goods take effect today, ratcheting up a monthslong trade war. China is hitting another $60 billion of American goods with duties, bringing the total value of goods facing tariffs to $113 billion.

Exports like salted beef, pig casings, frozen peas and canned spinach will now face 5 or 10 percent duties. Virtually every U.S. food and agriculture product is now subject to Chinese tariffs.

The trade scoreboard: President Donald Trump last week stuck new taxes on $200 billion in Chinese imports — also effective today — exponentially increasing the total value of targeted goods from about $53 billion all the way to $253 billion.

There are no signs the tariff ping-pong will end anytime soon. As Pro Trade's Doug Palmer reported Friday, another round of U.S.-China trade talks sought by the Trump administration has not been scheduled. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that even a lower-level trade meeting planned for this week has been called off.

Political fallout: Trump's trade battles could weigh on Republicans ahead of the November midterms, as companies record lower exports and consumers pay higher prices going into the holiday season.

In swing states and districts, Democrats see an opening to sap support from Republicans among groups like apple and cherry growers in Washington state, POLITICO's Ben White writes. "You are going to see close races where this is actually a decisive issue," said Scott Lincicome, a trade lawyer and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute.

In Iowa — another key battleground state — corn, soybean and hog farmers could face up to $2.2 billion in lost revenue as a result of the trade disputes, according to a new Iowa State University study. The effects could ripple through the state's economy in many different ways: sales tax receipts could fall and jobs could be lost as farmers cut back on spending, the Des Moines Register explains.

Relief for cherry and almond growers? Meanwhile, in USDA's latest effort to offset some of the agricultural damage, the department is offering additional financial help for producers of two specialty crops. Sweet cherry and almond producers will now be eligible for direct payments under USDA's market facilitation program.

USDA will pay out 3 cents per pound of shelled almonds and 16 cents per pound of sweet cherries, although the department didn't say in its announcement how much of the initial $4.7 billion pot would go to growers of the fruit and nuts.

Both items were also on USDA's list of planned commodity purchases. The department initially said it would buy up $63 million worth of almonds and $111 million of sweet cherries.

That buy-up plan was somewhat of a surprise. The fresh sweet cherry season was already over, meaning it wouldn't be possible to purchase any of the fruit from this year's crop.