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Ag economist: time will tell impact of hold on US/China tariffs

An ag economist with Purdue University says time will tell if China’s decision to put a hold on tariffs and buy more US goods will have a huge impact on the ag industry.

Chris Hurt says the trade dispute between the two countries has been a “cloud hanging over the marketplace.”

“That cloud doesn’t totally go away because essentially what has happened is that China and the United States have agreed to put on hold these differences of opinion and probably will bring them back up at some future time,” he says.

He tells Brownfield although there isn’t a specific deal in place, there are certain agricultural goods that China will likely buy more of…

“When you look at what those goods are, clearly soybeans come up first, but we have some others: ethanol, sorghum, and distillers grains,” he says.

Hurt says this will benefit farmers and both countries appear to be willing to work together.

Trade officials from both countries met in DC last week. The news that both countries will hold off on implementing tariffs comes after China dropped its anti-dumping investigation and a 179 percent tariff on US sorghum.

Audio: Chris Hurt, Purdue University