Utah Agriculture and Food Commissioner’s Statement on China’s Tariff Increases

(Salt Lake City)– Utah Agriculture and Food Commissioner, LuAnn Adams, issued the following statement today regarding the tariff increases recently announced by the finance ministry of the People’s Republic of China:
 “I am concerned with the impact these tariffs will have on Utah’s agriculture and food industry. I am especially troubled by 15 percent tariff increase on fresh fruits and dried fruits and the 25 percent tariff increase on pork products. Utah exported close to $20 million dollars’ worth of pork to Hong Kong, China in 2017 and our fruit growers export an average of $300,000 dollars’ worth of fruit to China every year. U.S. farm income across all commodities has fallen by about 50 percent over the past four years. These tariffs will decrease our exports to China and will increase the supply of fruit and pork domestically, further driving down prices and potentially putting our farmers and ranchers out of business. For the benefit of Utah agriculture, I hope this trade dispute is resolved quickly.”