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Abstract
Agricultural producers face numerous production and price uncertainties. International trade disruptions can exacerbate issues for producers. In 2018, as a result of escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China, both countries imposed tariffs on various imports. China’s tariffs have largely focused on U.S. agricultural commodities and products, specifically soybeans, creating an uncertain marketing environment that affects soybean producers’ income expectations for 2018. Due to tariffs on soybeans, the Trump administration announced payments to producers through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) (Best, Smith and Muhammad, 2018). Soybean MFP payments are designed to partially offset decreases in soybean producer income as a result of the Chinese tariffs. This article estimates the economic impact of decreased soybean prices, due to tariffs, and soybean MFP payments on 2018 soybean producer income and regional economies in Tennessee.