Latest news with #KansasFarmBureau
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Farm Bureau worries Trump official's docking-fee plan can harm farm exporters
Kansas Farm Bureau president Joe Newland, a former Kansas House Republican, said the state's agriculture economy could be harmed by a plan of the Trump administration to impose massive fees on container ships relied on to export Kansas farm products and import fertilizer and other inputs. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas Farm Bureau president expressed skepticism Monday about the U.S. trade representative's plan to impose U.S. docking fees of as much as $1.5 million on Chinese-built ships operating in international water to haul Kansas farm products to market or deliver key inputs for crop production. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposed the policy as part of President Donald Trump's objective of diverting container ship construction from China to the United States. The administration's policy could impact Seaboard Corporation, a Fortune 500 company based in Merriam, Kansas, that operated Seaboard Marine, a large international shipping carrier. Kansas farmers rely on global shipping to import fertilizer or seed and to export crops. In 2022, Kansas exported $7.2 billion in agricultural products. 'We support efforts to increase America's competitiveness in shipbuilding, but the USTR's existing plan would raise shipping costs, destroy jobs and make Kansas agricultural products less competitive in global markets,' said Joe Newland, president of Kansas Farm Bureau. He said steps should be taken to make certain U.S.-owned shipping companies and their customers, which included the state's farmers and ranchers, weren't 'caught in the crosshairs of misguided policy.' U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas and a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, said the Trump administration's blueprint for surging fees on American shipping companies would inflict damage on businesses and farmers, as well as threaten national security. She said Trump administration's proposed fee change could prove so costly that Seaboard's marine division might be forced out of business. 'While I support strengthening America's shipbuilding industry and the American workers employed by the sector, I am concerned that the proposed action, as currently written, will have unintended consequences that would be devastating for United States-owned international ocean carriers and employment at dozens of ports around the country,' Davids said. Davids said industry experts warned the trade representative's strategy could backfire by disrupting supply chains, driving up costs, narrowing options for U.S. exporters and providing Chinese companies with a competitive advantage. She said the trade representative should amend proposed docking levies to protect U.S.-owned shipping companies while also encouraging growth of American shipbuilding. The plan called for a service fee of up to $1 million for Chinese-owned operators of shipping vessels making a U.S. port of call. The fee could rise to $1.5 million for fleets containing Chinese-built vessels making a port of call.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rep. Davids and Kansas Farm Bureau discuss Trump tariffs
MERRIAM, Kan. — Ahead of President Donald Trump's address Tuesday night, Kansas' 3rd District Congresswoman, Democrat Sharice Davids, hosted a call Tuesday morning. A guest of hers, included someone who works closely with Kansas farmers. This comes as Trumps administration is proceeding with tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, a move he says is to combat 'US national security threats.' . 'I have concerns right now. President Trump's trade policies certainly have the potential to impact and hurt Kansas,' Rep. Sharice Davids said Tuesday. 'Too many people have already seen the consequences of trade instability before.' Target CEO says Trump's tariffs will likely raise prices on items within 'days' Davids said there is potential for this to be a 'reckless approach.' She hopes to hear from Trump on a number of issues, including urgency of the Farm Bill. Davids also says to keep the economy strong, there will need to be trade policies that are going to open doors for farmers. 'We are looking at a situation where Kansas farmers are at risk of facing higher costs,' she shared, adding its not just the agriculture industry that will feel it. 'There's a potential that every Kansan will feel this with rising prices on things like gas, and groceries, vehicles costing thousands more a year.' 'The initial effect could be higher prices from inputs like from Canada on our fertilizer, or from any country, as far as that's concerned,' Newland said. 'But right now, the tariffs, as far as Canada, Mexico, and China are concerned, we are still in the process of marketing more grain.' Joe Newland, the president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, was on Tuesday's call. Newland said trade is vital for Kansas agriculture, adding that he believes there will be impacts caused by tariffs. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri 'They (these tariffs) will probably hurt us in the short term, but in the long term, we want to make sure we can keep everything strong,' Newland shared. The , a non-partisan research organization, says tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could cost the average US household over $1,200 a year. The President's Joint Address will take place Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. central time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
