What could tariffs mean to Iowa’s agriculture economy?

COMING UP. THANK YOU JASON. LOOMING TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CHINA, MEXICO AND CANADA COULD IMPACT OUR ECONOMY. THOSE ARE SET TO GO INTO EFFECT TOMORROW. KCCI’S PEPPER PAPURA TALKED WITH AN IOWAN WHO LOBBIES FOR THE STATE’S AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY ABOUT WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR IOWANS. PEPPER. WELL, STACY, THAT PLAN WOULD OVERTURN THE CURRENT FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S. AND CANADA THAT THE U.S. HAS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO. THE PRESIDENT SAYS HE’S RESPONDING TO A LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND DRUG SMUGGLING ON THOSE SHARED BORDERS. BUT WHILE THE POLITICIANS CREATE A NEW DEAL, SOME IOWA FARMERS ARE CONCERNED THEIR COMPETITORS MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE. STU SWANSON’S FEELINGS ABOUT TARIFFS ARE TWOFOLD. WE ARE CONCERNED. WE’RE OPTIMISTIC THAT IT MAY LEAD TO SOMETHING BETTER BECAUSE AS A FARMER AND A PRO AGRICULTURE LOBBYIST, SWANSON REMEMBERS HOW PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S PLAN TO TAX FOREIGN GOODS ONCE HELPED THIS INDUSTRY. WE DID SEE SOME BENEFITS. WE WERE ABLE TO GET CHINA TO THE TABLE TO MAKE SOME PURCHASE COMMITMENTS. BUT NOW HE’S WORRIED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FALLOUT FOR FARMERS THAT NEW TARIFFS COULD CAUSE. THEY’RE DISRUPTIVE TO OUR MARKETS. AND AND AS FARMERS, WE LIKE FREE TRADE BECAUSE IF PRESIDENT TRUMP ENACTS TARIFFS, THE COST TO IMPORT FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES WILL JUMP 25%. LEADERS IN CANADA AND MEXICO PROMISED THEIR OWN TARIFFS IN RESPONSE. IF TARIFFS ARE IMPLEMENTED AGAINST CANADA, WE WILL RESPOND. LET THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO KNOW THAT IN THE FACE OF A SITUATION THAT COULD ARISE, WE ARE PREPARED. PRESS SECRETARY CAROLINE LEAVITT SAYS PRESIDENT TRUMP ALREADY PROVED THAT HE CAN KEEP INFLATION LOW WITH TARIFFS. I THINK AMERICANS WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASED PRICES SHOULD LOOK AT WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP DID IN HIS FIRST TERM. HE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED TARIFFS AND THE AVERAGE INFLATION RATE DURING THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WAS 1.9%. BUT WHILE TRADE AGREEMENTS ARE HASHED OUT, SWANSON SAYS HE’S WORRIED AMERICAN PRODUCERS COULD GET REPLACED. WE’VE SEEN AN EXPLOSION OF PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL, SO WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO MAKE A PROFIT, IT MAY LEAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHER PRODUCERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES AS WELL. THE PRESIDENT ALSO SAYS THAT HE’S CONSIDERING REDUCING THE TARIFFS ON MEXICAN OIL IMPORTS TO AVOID HIKING GAS PRICES. PEPPER. THANKS. NOW, IT ISN’T JUST THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY THAT COULD TAKE A HIT. EXPERTS SAY THE TOURISM INDUSTRY COULD ALSO BE AFFECTED. KCCI TALKED WITH GREG EDWARDS, THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CATTESE DES MOINES. HE SAYS DES MOINES IS A HUB OF AGRICULTURE CONFERENCES, WHICH BRING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO CENTRAL IOWA AND MILLIONS IN REVENUE. JUST THOSE SHOWS ALONE, WE ESTIMATE ABOUT A $35 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT, BRINGING IN, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY JUST IOWA FARMERS AND IOWA AG PEOPLE, BUT REALLY FARM AND AG PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THESE BIGGER SHOWS. DES MOINES HOSTS MAJOR AGRICULTURE CONFERENCES LIKE THE IO