NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Lee says the continuing impacts on Tennessee farmers due to President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with China are worrisome.
“It’s certainly concerning to see the impact that it has,” Lee, a Republican, told reporters Thursday. But he quickly added that he also finds it “encouraging to see the federal government mitigate some of that impact with subsidies to farmers.”
The subsidies are “the reason that those farmers are able to continue to operate,” Lee said. With regard to “the duration of the impact,” the governor said, “we’ve yet to know. but I’m very concerned about the degree to which our farmers in Tennessee are impacted and we’ll just watch as it goes forward.”
Trump has been a longtime critic of China’s trade practices in areas ranging from what he says are unfair advantages in manufacturing to alleged intellectual property theft and the Chinese government’s forcing U.S. companies wishing to manufacture there to agree to technology transfers.
On Thursday, Politico reported U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, a tariff critic, as saying “there’s no question” the trade war is impacting the U.S. economy.
In a later Fox News Radio interview, the president asked “what does Pat Toomey want me to do? Does he want me to say let me put my hands up and let China continue to rip us off?”
Noting talks with China are continuing, Trump said, “I think they want to make a deal. I sort of think they have to make a deal.”
China’s retaliatory agricultural tariffs primarily impact Tennessee soybean and hog producers.
Lee, a businessman, has a beef cattle operation on his family’s Williamson County farm.
“Where we sell our meat at our farm is not directly impacted,” Lee said. “Prices could ultimately be impacted, but we’re not shipping from our farm. We’re local providers so our operation is not impacted.”
But the governor noted “many farmers in Tennessee are impacted. Those are the ones that we’re concerned about, and we watch this closely and are advocating for whatever helps” through farm subsidies or other “things that will help our farmers be successful.”
In response to another question, Lee told reporters he has spoken with new Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, “about our hope for moving forward with strong leadership and getting things done.
“His comments have been very encouraging to me about working together to ensure that every Tennessean’s served well by what we do in the legislature and in the governor’s office. I’m encouraged,” the governor said.
Sexton was elected to replace former Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, who was forced to resign the post after an uprising within the GOP Caucus over multiple scandals and what critics charged was a high-handed management style.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 616-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.