Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) this week sent a letter to United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue warning him about the dire situation faced by American farmers thanks to President Donald Trump's trade war with China.
Although Moran expressed sympathy with Trump's need to hold China accountable, he said the financial stress his tariffs were placing on China have been too much to bear.
"Kansas farmers and ranchers understand the need to hold China accountable for bad behavior on trade,” he wrote. “Yet, net farm income has fallen by 50% since 2013 and the trade war has pushed commodity prices down even further. Many farmers and ranchers are on the verge of financial collapse."
Moran also told Perdue that resolving the trade war with China should be the administration's "top priority" and he stressed he was disappointed to see tensions between the two countries escalate in recent days.
He also said that the president's proposed bailout package for American farmers would not do nearly enough to stop the bleeding -- and he insisted it "will not make up for lost export markets and long term implications of trade disputes."
"Farmers are hurting," he said. "It is critical the upcoming trade assistance be structured in a manner that does maximum good for our farmers and ranchers."
