COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue made stops at the Clemens Pork Processing Plant and at Mastronardi Produce in Coldwater on Tuesday as part of his four day “Back to Our Roots” RV tour which comes as trade tensions between the United States and China has worried many agricultural interests in Michigan.
The former Georgia governor tried to ease the worries over the recent trade dust up which could turn into a trade war and severely damage the state’s economy. In retaliation for U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, China has slapped a 25 percent tariff on pork and a 15 percent tariff on apples and some other fruits. Perdue is hopeful the situation will de-escalate quickly.
Perdue was confident the Trump Administration has the backing of American farmers.
As for a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, Perdue was optimistic a deal will get done but he declined to give details on what the Trump Administration plans to do next.
He pointed out politics is big reason why a Farm Bill for 2018 has not been adopted yet.
Perdue’s RV tour includes stops in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.
