To the editor:

According to an article in the Business Section of the Oct. 3 Star-Tribune, North Dakota State University (NDSU) analyzed the direct impact of Donald Trump’s tariff proposals and found they would be devastating for Midwestern farmers. If his tariffs target China (as he has repeatedly promised) soybean exports for the US could drop as much as 67% — more than $15 billion. Farmers in Minnesota alone could see soybean exports fall by $1.3 billion and corn exports fall by $400 million.

Such losses would obviously have ripple effects across the entire rural economy. This is exactly what happened when he imposed tariffs on China in 2017, American farmers lost billions of dollars in exports and Congress had to spend billions of taxpayer dollars in emergency allocations to keep those same farmers in business. Congress may not be so generous this time around.

As Mark Schultz, senior grain marketing analyst with Northstar Commodity, noted in the same article: “Agriculture historically does better when a Democrat is in office than a Republican. That’s just how it plays out.” Voters in rural Minnesota would be wise to remember that, particularly in this election.

Paul A Bridgland

Marshall