I never thought the leopard would eat my seed corn
By 
Like other farmers in western Iowa, in early April Mr. Hanson was preparing for spring planting. The decisions he made then could determine whether he would be in the red or the black come fall harvest.
In farming, there are always uncertainties, and all around Monona County, where Mr. Hanson lives, farmers are weighing them. It has been a tough few years. A wet spring in 2024 meant some farmers had to replant three times. This year, it’s too dry. The price of soybeans has been going down, while the cost of seed and fertilizer has remained high, as have the interest rates on the loans that farmers take out to buy those things. Rates have reached 9 percent, more than double what they were three years ago.
And now, there is an extra variable: a trade war.
The 145 percent tariff that President Trump imposed on Chinese imports in April was met with a retaliatory 125 percent tax on U.S. goods going into China. In practice, that means a hefty tax on Midwestern crops. China is the largest importer of U.S. soybeans, buying some $12.8 billion worth last year. The new tariffs, along with various taxes, bring the effective tariff for the crop to 155 percent, according to the American Soybean Association.
Even before Mr. Trump set off the current tariff war, some farmers in Iowa were looking at the possibility of a third consecutive year of losses. Everything is slowing down. Lenders are becoming more cautious. Machinery and heavy equipment sellers feel the mood shift, too, as farmers eke out another year from aging tractors, planters and other big machinery, rather than buy new ones.
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Like many rural Iowa communities, Monona County voted heavily for Mr. Trump, 72 percent, in the election. Mr. Hanson won’t discuss his vote and notes that he sits on the county fair board and sells seed to customers all around the area.
And it’s not just rural MAGA — we can consider this friend of Bret Stephens:
As for the Op, roughly three-quarters of its games are made in China, with the rest made in the United States. He recognizes that, logistically, it would make greater sense to produce them closer to his primary market.
But that’s not the way this market works. China, he said, has “a highly developed supply chain that allows America to enjoy a wide range of quality toys and games at very affordable prices.” If he had to make all his products domestically, the retail prices for most of his games would rise to about $35 to $40, from $20 to $25. “There would be no market at this price,” he said, and he would also have to “dramatically shrink” his work force. As for moving production to countries like India or Vietnam, it would take years. With no transition time, Trump’s tariffs have “the potential of obliterating the toy business.”
That’s the state of emergency that’s unfolding across his industry and beyond. In mid-March, Dane gave the green light for 15 containers of goods to be shipped from China. That was when the tariff rate was 20 percent. Before the goods could arrive in Vancouver for shipment to Indianapolis, the tariff rate had risen to 145 percent, potentially costing the company an additional $920,000.
“These goods might now make a round trip to China to allow us to avoid the 145 percent tariff until the more permanent, and lower, tariff is decided on,” Dane explained. The tsunami of economic consequences is moving fast. He has put all China-based production on hold. “There is a very narrow window to restart production that will enable filling shelves in time for holiday shopping” — by which he means Christmas. “Layoffs at many companies are already happening,” he added. “We are doing more of running a daily fire drill than running our business.”
What does Dane think of the Trump administration’s overall trade policy? He doesn’t object to taking a harder line on China. But he’s offended that the president is making tariff exceptions for big tech companies but not for the smaller American businesses that the administration is supposed to champion.
Not only did this guy vote for Trump, he would still vote for Trump because Joe Biden old and think of how much communist legislation could have been passed by a collaboration of the definitely far-left Kamala Harris and a Republican Senate.
If I am a Democratic candidate or in communications, my position is that the victims of Trump’s trade war should be welcomed back with open arms into the party of non-insanity if they choose. As a commentator, I hope that everyone who voted for this and remains unrepentant loses their shirts.