Farmers plant soybeans amid uncertainty over tariffs

After President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, the Chinese government threatened to target soybeans, an important American cash crop. As farmers got ready to plant their fields, they didn’t have much choice but to stick to planting soybeans and hope for the best. But there are other actions they could take, like selling their harvest ahead of time on the futures market, or making plans to sell to another foreign market. The tariffs could also affect other rural businesses like machinery dealerships and fertilizer distributors.

Correction (May 2, 2018): The original version of this story misstated the tariff that prompted China to threaten tariffs on soybeans. It has been corrected to show that tariff was $50 billion in Chinese goods.

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