GOP owns tariff war pain inflicted on US farmers

By stretching one congressional day to 7,056 hours, Republicans have ensured that no vote can be forced to overturn Trump's national emergency, keeping his tariff war intact. This maneuver places the blame for any damage done to American farmers squarely on the GOP. The agricultural community has already suffered $27 billion in lost exports during Trump's first term, with subsidies failing to offset these losses fully.

Now, with increased tariffs on Chinese exports to around 30%, China has retaliated with tariffs targeting US agricultural products like chicken, pork, and soybeans. The political landscape leaves GOP House members in a conundrum: support Trump's policies or risk losing favor with their farming constituents.

Congress has the authority to overturn national emergencies through a joint resolution. However, the GOP's legislative tactics describe the remainder of this congressional year as a single day, preventing any forced votes to end the emergency and associated tariffs, leaving US farmers to deal with the consequences throughout 2025.

Trump's view that "trade wars are good, and easy to win" is not shared by the American farmers bearing the brunt of these policies.