The trade war between the United States and China is exacerbating the financial struggles of Mississippi farmers, who were already confronting rising costs and heavy losses due to lower crop prices. According to a report from Pinion Global, an agriculture accounting firm, Mississippi farmers experienced more than half a billion dollars in losses last year.
During a press luncheon in Jackson on Monday, Gipson called the tariffs a “negotiating tactic” that would pay off in the long run, and blamed famer’s financial issues on the U.S.'s $30 billion trade imbalance for agricultural products.
“They're the reason crop products are lower than they need be,” Gipson said. “This ag trade imbalance has got to be balanced again and there's no reason in the world that that can't be done.”
The U.S. and China announced on Monday they would reduce the tariffs they imposed on each other for 90 days while trade negotiations continue. China imports agricultural products worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Mississippi each year, and Gipson says leaders in the Trump Administration understand a deal needs to be reached by late-Fall.
“They want to get something done soon and sooner rather than later, and getting it done by harvest time will be a wonderful thing for the future of agriculture and for our farmers in Mississippi,” Gipson said.
To help protect the long-term health of Mississippi's agriculture industry, Gipson says farmers also need to find new markets, diversify their crop selection and explore additional business ventures like agritourism.
During the event, Gipson also said he's concerned by increases in Mississippi agricultural land being converted into solar farms. The patchwork of solar regulations across the state's 82 counties is insufficient, according to Gipson. He says state lawmakers should regulate the size of solar projects and where they can be deployed.
