(Radio Iowa) – One month after the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs on imports to the U-S, the pork and soybean industries are closely watching how countries respond. Weekly export sales for U-S pork recently hit a marketing year low, in part because China cancelled a contract for 12-thousand metric tons. Iowa State Extension economist Chad Hart says agricultural export sales fluctuate, but aggregate data over the last four months shows countries are buying less U-S pork.

Hart says the majority of soybean export sales have already been made and delivered for the current marketing year, which ends in August. He says the U-S/China trade war could have a much greater impact on the soybean industry if retaliatory tariffs are still in place this fall.

Hart says corn exports have been up despite the tariff chatter, but countries have pulled back purchases of U-S pork since January. He says the 10 percent baseline tariffs on almost all imports into the U-S could make it harder to find new trading partners for farm products.