No Good Way for Perdue to Protect Farmers

ifr180413–093
No Good Way for Perdue to Protect Farmers
Jonathan Coppess, Ag Policy Specialist - University of Illinois

President Trump has asked the Secretary of Agriculture to protect U.S. farmers from the trade dispute with China. However, as Todd Gleason reports, there aren’t many options for Sonny Perdue.

Last week Sonny Perdue was on the road for his second RV… 1:24 radio
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Last week Sonny Perdue was on the road for his second RV tour of farm country. His first tour was last summer. That’s when he told producers he would be their salesman to the world. Now he’s being asked to be their protector in the face of trade restrictions, some in place others proposed, as President Trump sets about rectifying what he sees as unfair trade with China. However, Perdue isn’t saying what he’ll do for farmers and there may be a good reason that’s the case says University of Illinois Ag Policy Specialist Jonathan Coppess.

Coppess :40 …that limits the creativity that you can have.

Quote Summary - There are not a lot options for the Secretary when it comes to the covered commodities. Typically what the lawyers will explain in USDA and elsewhere is, that while there is flexibility in the original CCC charter act and the general powers to improve prices and to help with exports and markets, because Congress has stepped in time and time again and directed spending for commodities in certain ways, i.e. ARC and PLC, that limits the creativity that you can have.

Most of the heavy lifting to protect farmers from any trade war blowback then, says Coppess, would need to be done by Congress.