Panetta, Valadao, others urge Trump to reverse planned tariffs

In response to recent actions taken by China concerning U.S. agricultural products, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) sent a letter to United States Trade Representative, Mr. Robert Lighthizer, expressing his grave concerns.

In an effort to combat unfair trade practices committed by China, President Donald Trump directed the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to impose a twenty five percent tariff on steel imports and a ten percent tariff on aluminum imports on March 8, 2018. However, in retaliation, China imposed $3 billion worth of tariffs on more than eighty U.S. agriculture products.

Congressman David Valadao stated, "Agriculture drives the American economy and is the backbone of the Central Valley's economy. Not only do the proposed tariffs fail to adequately remedy China's unfair practices, such tariffs seriously jeopardize our farmers' access to export markets, which accounts for roughly twenty percent of their production." He continued,"While advancing equitable trade policies between foreign nations and the United States is critical, implementing such tariffs will have a long-lasting negative impact on hardworking Central Valley farmers who are already struggling."

Joining Representative David G. Valadao (CA-21) and lead Democrat, Representative Jim Costa (CA-16), Representatives Jeff Denham (CA-10), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Steve Knight (CA-21), Salud O. Carbajal (CA-21), Jimmy Panetta (CA-21), and John Garamendi (CA-03) also signed the letter.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Congressman David G. Valadao represents the 21st Congressional District, which includes Kings County and portions of Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties.