US being battered by its own trade blows: China Daily editorial

So some pain relief is to finally be administered. In an admission that the escalating trade disputes it has initiated with China and other countries is hurting the United States, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday it will provide $12 billion in emergency aid to ease the misery of US farmers.

With the midterm elections coming up, there is a political consideration behind the Trump administration extending financial aid to US farmers, as it does not want to lose its support in the agricultural states.

It has become increasingly evident that US farmers have been hurt as a result of the Trump administration’s injudicious trade stance. If the disputes are prolonged, $12 billion will be far from enough to make up for the losses the US farmers will suffer. In addition, the government support for farmers is likely to prompt calls for similar treatment from other sectors that are suffering because of the trade frictions.

Yet while the government aid will no doubt be welcomed by farmers, it is a temporary painkiller not a cure for their ills. Many farmers have declared that they want markets for their crops, not payoffs for lost sales and lower prices.

As Republican Senator Charles Grassley, whose family operates a farm in eastern Iowa, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying, the administration's move was "encouraging for the short term"; however, farmers need "markets and opportunity, not government handouts".

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue claimed the move is "a short-term solution to allow President Trump time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the entire US economy". But long-term deals mean sitting down and talking and making compromises. Instead, the Trump administration has decided to try and strong-arm the US' trade partners into conceding to its demands.

The US will not win with this approach. If the US government imposes further tariffs on more imports, retaliatory actions can be expected from the US' trade partners, and the losses US farmers and other sectors have endured so far will be just the beginning.

The US government cannot afford to bail out all the industries being battered, especially as the pain US industries in various sectors are suffering will become increasingly acute.

Even the most dogmatic physician will have to admit they made a mistake when the treatment causes the patient's condition to deteriorate. Hopefully, the cries of pain from farmers and industries in the US will let the Trump administration realize the folly of its ways.