Quarles discusses trade at state Chamber of Commerce meeting

(A version of this article appears in the August 2, 2018 edition of The Farmer’s Pride)

By Ray Bowman

As Congress considered legislation to moderate the Trump administration’s aggressive trade measures, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce was holding its 13th Annual Business Summit and Annual Meeting in Louisville.

Kentucky Agriculture commissioner Ryan Quarles participated in a panel discussion entitled “Trade, Tariffs, and Kentucky’s Economy” as a part of the meeting. Quarles was joined on the panel by John Murphy senior vice president for international policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Rocco Rossi, president, and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Dave Tatman, executive director, Kentucky Auto Industry Association. Chamber senior vice president for public affairs, Ashli Watts, served as moderator.

“For every action in trade, there is a reaction,” observed John Murphy. “Tariffs have been applied to about $40 billion in steel and aluminum imports and one of the reactions is that steel prices are up about 40 percent and aluminum is up about 130 percent. If you’re in the manufacturing industry or construction and you use that, there’s a huge effect.” Beyond that, Murphy says, other governments start to retaliate with their own tariffs, as has already proven to be the case.

Concern about economic fallout from these actions have spurred the congressional interest and have increased anxiety in the agriculture community, where money is already tight.

“It’s so important to realize that, as farmers, we’re price takers, not price makers,” Commissioner Quarles said. “We’re about six weeks out from harvest. Farmers are anxious, but they are also understanding that there are unfair trade policies.” Quarles noted that foreign trading partners regularly hold the United States to higher standards than the rest of the world, creating an unfair advantage for our competitors.

“For me, at the state level, I’m trying to be active and aggressive,” Quarles continued, mentioning a trip to Canada in June to meet with Kentucky native and United States Ambassador Kelly Craft and discuss the Commonwealth’s connection with its trade partners. “It’s very important for us to maintain access, but also to have clear regulatory rules.”

Reflecting on the visit in June from USDA undersecretary for trade Ted McKinney, Quarles pointed to some successes that are currently being overshadowed by more negative trade implications. “As the undersecretary noted, you can’t hit a home run every time. There’s a lot of singles and doubles that are not being mentioned in the press right now.” Quarles noted that, for the first time ever, American farmers can export rice to China and for the first time in 13 years, American beef can now be sold there.

“Another thing we need to realize is how much of a world market is left virtually untapped,” Quarles added. He noted that of the 200 recognized countries across the globe, only about 20 have trade agreements with the United States. “For me, there’s a big market out there that has yet to be accessed. I know that there is some hurt going on right now, but I’m sort of an optimist on this topic and there is a bigger pie out there that we have yet to go after.”