U.S. Sees a Risk China Will Target American Farmers in Trade Fight
A combine harvester travels along a road beside a soybean field at dusk in Buda, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S.’s top trade negotiator said he’s concerned American soybean farmers will become victims of Chinese trade retaliation, but the Trump administration is pursuing a tariff policy to protect broader national interests.
“What I would agree with is that we have trade rights that we have to defend and that too often farmers get the short end of the stick,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators during a hearing Thursday in Washington. “We have to balance this.”