Trump’s trade war becoming a hot potato for California House Republicans
Joe Garofoli Aug. 1, 2018, San Francisco Chronicle
Jon Camacho is a fourth-generation San Joaquin County almond farmer who says he will “have to borrow money to stay alive” if he doesn’t get a slice of the $12 billion the Trump administration is promising to farmers affected by the president’s tariff wars with trade partners.
One of Camacho’s biggest buyers is China — or it was, until President Trump imposed taxes on a range of Chinese imports, and Beijing responded by slapping tariffs on U.S. farm products, including almonds. With the Chinese market drying up, there’s a glut of U.S. nuts, and the price of Camacho’s product is plummeting.
As first proposed, however, Trump’s assistance package wouldn’t cover almond growers. Or citrus growers, who also make up a big share of California’s farmers — and are looking to Trump-friendly Republican congressmen for help.
