WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) – American farmers, ranchers—and even newspaper owners—are feeling the brunt of a budding trade war. That’s why senators grilled the Commerce Secretary today on a U.S. tariff policy.
Since the Trump administration announced in March it would start charging tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, more than 20,000 American businesses have asked for an exemption but the administration was only prepared to receive 6,000 requests.
In a Senate Finance hearing, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said, “I don’t think your department did a lot of homework at the front end, which is why we’re having the problems.
Problems extend beyond companies that use steel and aluminum. The U.S. has added tariffs to Canadian paper, affecting the price of newsprint. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he hasn’t gotten enough information from small newspapers. “How many pages do you print a day? How much per page is the extra cost?” he said.
Meanwhile, farmers and ranchers are hurting too from retaliatory tariffs on American agriculture.
Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo) asked, “What do you now propose for our farmers and ranchers?” Ross replied, “It’s up to the Secretary of Agriculture to come because each of segments of agriculture is quite a different segment.”
Senators from both sides of the aisle told stories of businesses in their home states. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said, “Apples and cherries are getting hurt.”
Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) said, “The recent one dollar drop in soybean prices will cost the soybean producers in just my state of South Dakota alone, $225 million.”
On Friday, the European Union will begin implementing its retaliatory tariffs on American products like motorcycles, orange juice, bourbon, peanut butter, cigarettes, and denim.
Canada is also enacting tariffs on American products. Those will take effect July 1.
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