American farmers and agricultural concerns are wary of the protectionist trade policy pursued by President Donald Trump. Competing countries are now calculating how doors that close to the US will open for them.
This gives Brazil the opportunity to return to the Asian trading floor in the foreseeable future, because Trump is actually delaying the progress of the trade deal with Asia. About a quarter of US soy goes to China, while a large volume of corn ends up in Japan and Mexico. If that were to disappear, it would have major consequences for farmers.
According to Bloomberg Trump's strategy could cause America, the world's traditional breadbasket, to drift further. Brazil, Australia, Russia and Ukraine are well positioned to benefit from the US shift. As soon as a supplier becomes unreliable in the eyes of customers, the chain adapts and loses market share.
While trade agreements have been blamed for job losses in, for example, the manufacturing industry, American agriculture has actually benefited from globalization. U.S. corn, soybeans, cattle and other commodities were worth $2017 billion in fiscal 134.
Again more than the 129.7 billion a year earlier. Canada and Mexico account for $39.6 billion of this, which amounts to 31 percent, according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture.
About half of global corn exports are grown in the US. Nearly half of all U.S. wheat, half of soybeans and rice, and three-quarters of cotton go abroad.
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