Charles Wachsmuth, who helps run a family-owned kidney-bean processor in Menomonie, Wis., said that in 2018, giant bags of kidney beans accumulated as his buyers disappeared.
The import tariffs Europe slapped on American beans made them 25% more expensive for Europeans, causing many customers in Wachsmuth’s biggest market to back out of their contracts.
Wachsmuth, a Harris supporter, said the company still hasn’t recovered the market share it lost to Argentine growers, even though the U.S. and the EU reached a trade truce in late 2021. Trump’s promises to deploy tariffs once again “keeps me up at night,” he added.
The Trump administration sent $23 billion in taxpayer money to farmers during the last trade war to compensate the agricultural sector for tariff-related losses.
WSJ
