Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 5/9/16



Donald Trump, the presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee, on Friday said he’d raise the 2.5 percent U.S. tariff on Japanese cars to counter Japan’s 38.5 percent tariff on U.S. beef, instead of supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“You want to charge a tariff of 38 percent to Nebraska for its beef? Then we’re going to charge you a tariff of 38 percent when you sell your cars to the United States. It’s a very simple thing,” Trump said during a rally in Nebraska, according to The Japan News.

Trump has consistently opposed the TPP deal signed by Japan, the United States and 10 other countries in February. Under the pact, which has yet to be approved by the U.S. Congress, the Japanese tariff on U.S. beef would be lowered in stages over a 16-year period while the U.S. tariff on Japanese cars would eventually be removed.

Politico quoted Trump as saying at a rally in Spokane, Wash., “They charge us a tariff, I didn't know this, 38 percent. ... I will take care of that situation so fast. In one day that situation will be equalized."

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association supports passage of the TPP, particularly in light of last year’s trade deal between Australia and Japan that cut Australia’s tariff to 27.5 percent and will phase it down further over time. The TPP would reduce Japan's tariff on U.S. fresh, chilled, and frozen beef cuts incrementally to 9 percent over 16 years.

The Lincoln Journal Star editorial board, on Sunday wrote that a Trump presidency would hurt the Nebraska farm economy.
“Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stopped off briefly in Omaha Friday to blow smoke about opening Japan to more beef and forcing China to buy Nebraska products. Nebraskans need to take a closer look. Trump's trade policies could ravage Nebraska agriculture and do major damage to the state’s economy,” the editorial declared. 

Meanwhile, a poll of 2,000 farmers by Farm Journal Pulse, showed in a presidential race between Trump and Hillary Clinton, 74 percent would vote for Trump.  

Clinton also opposes the TPP, saying it failed to provide the basic safety net support that American workers need in order to be able to compete and win in the global economy.

A similar Pulse poll in October 2012 showed 85 percent of farmers polled indicating they would vote for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election.

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