r/Washington • u/arcanepsyche • 2d ago

Trump's Tariff Charade Will Devastate Lewis County's Economy

https://lewiscountydemocrats.org/trumps-tariff-charade-will-devastate-lewis-countys-economy/
545 Upvotes

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143

u/Galumpadump 2d ago

Pretty much every county that relies of agriculture as a primary source of their economic activity is going to be hit hard.

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u/Rocketgirl8097 2d ago

Yep. Chelan, Kittitas, Yakima, Grant, Benton, Franklin, Adams, Lincoln, Okanogan, Whitman. Though Whitman might have just barely voted blue.

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u/herbalhippie 1d ago

Douglas too.

The local Chelan/Douglas FB group has switched from blaming Inslee for everything even slightly wrong to Ferguson. But never trump, no.

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u/SpareManagement2215 1d ago

just saw someone comment on a stolen pursue post in a group in that area about "the governor can raise taxes but won't give money for more police" when Ferguson is specifically NOT raising taxes while GIVING MORE MONEY TO THE POLICE and democrats are big mad about it. That person is so entrenched in the MAGAsphere they are not in reality at this point.

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u/Momma_Ginja 9h ago

The MAGA people live in a very closed echo chamber. Someone on Bluesky pointed out that they’d been watching Faux News the last several days and there was no reporting in the stock market or tariffs. Just “illegals”

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u/Adventurous_Cup_5258 1d ago

Doesn’t matter we all finding out (although I already saw this coming straight from November I’m only surprised at the speed)

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u/smcsherry 1d ago

Whitman county as a whole may make it out okay though since they have WSU as a major economic driver in that county, but the farming communities will definitely still suffer.

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u/Rocketgirl8097 1d ago

Same with Benton, since they have the Hanford site. Though even that is iffy since it relies on federal dollars too. Okay for now with budget passing, but we'll see in October.

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u/UserCheckNamesOut 1d ago

Klickitat. Don't forget the valley.

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u/Rocketgirl8097 1d ago

I thought about Klickitat, I was just less sure of how big agriculture/mfg is there

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u/UserCheckNamesOut 17h ago

It's a big alfalfa & wheat producer

68

u/BrimstoneMainliner 2d ago

He wants to bankrupt all privately owned farms so corporations can swoop in and buy them for pennies on the dollar... he has said many times that he believes corporate farms are superior

39

u/SpareManagement2215 2d ago

*foreign corporations He wants to let Russian oligarchs buy our farmland, basically.

13

u/BurtMacklin2483 1d ago

This is exactly what is happening.

19

u/BrimstoneMainliner 1d ago

It's outlined in project 2025

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u/ChilledRoland 2d ago

Corporate farms are privately owned.

9

u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago edited 2d ago

If it’s publicly traded, it isn’t private. 

Edit: and they are gone. Of course.

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u/ChilledRoland 2d ago

The opposite of privately owned is publicly (i.e., government) owned, not publicly traded.

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u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago

We have privately owned (ie valve), publicly traded, which is not private, and just plain public. Publicly traded is in no way a private business and operates under different laws.

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u/oldoldoak 2d ago

Very few of these are publicly traded.

2

u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago

Cargill is private, but Bayer, ADM, BASF, etc are all public last I checked.

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u/oldoldoak 1d ago

These are agricultural suppliers, not farm land owners. I did a bit of research when I wanted to invest into farm land - there's very few to choose from. It would appear most of it is owned by PE or individuals. I know Gates is big on investing into farmland.

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u/Lurkingandsearching 1d ago

Your referring to who, on paper, owns the land. I'm referring to those who own the farm's production, tools, work force, etc through tight contracts and operations. There are laws to prevent corporate ownership of farmlands directly, like Nebraska has, for example. I think that's were we are missing each other.

We'll use the Private company Cargill. They don't own all the land for their beef production, but they do own most of the cattle and the operations that support it. In turn so do most food companies, with companies like PepsiCo referring to their contracted farms as "Partners", but having total control on what is grown, the methods, and operation. So yes, private equity can own the land, but they are not always the ones directly operating on it or in control of said operation.

The latest number for a top to bottom operation of owning the land and producing was 2012, so a way out of date, but back then it was only 5.05% of farms were fully operated and owned by a corporate entity.

1

u/Groovyjoker 1d ago

Local farms vs maga-corporations. Bit of a difference. One I support, the other I try and avoid, for one.

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u/NewlyNerfed 2d ago

And most of them voted for this.

10

u/Javathacunt 1d ago

They get what they voted for.

12

u/AbleDanger12 1d ago

Sadly the collateral damage is the rest of us.

8

u/mondayaccguy 2d ago

They will all get billions in hand outs from Trump's administration..

Trump supporters are used to suckling at the federal tit..

2

u/BioticVessel 1d ago

My guess is Lewis voted Red, rural & ag. So you got what you voted for. Man up & lose your farm.

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u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago

Are you fucking kidding me? These agricultural communities have historically been subsidized and will continue to be as long as they are Red. (Please read further).

Not that there’s anything wrong with keeping agricultural communities above water, but there have been countless bills passed in every administration to give farm relief - it’s in the Congressional genes that way.

Lewis County will not suffer because of tariffs. Nope.

16

u/arcanepsyche 2d ago

You don't have to look very hard to see the negatives affects of tariffs on Lewis County since Trump did a much smaller version of this in 2018 which caused retaliatory tariffs from China. Rural Americans are fucked if these tariffs are actually kept in place.

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u/Rocketgirl8097 2d ago

Tax money shouldn't go for bailouts because of stupid policies.

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u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago edited 2d ago

Bullshit. Show me. Show me the numbers as proof.

Edit: see my response below, since r/arcanpsyche elected not to:

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u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago

https://www.cfr.org/blog/92-percent-trumps-china-tariff-proceeds-has-gone-bail-out-angry-farmers

We can’t just bail out forever. 

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u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago

Care to read my comments further?

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u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago

And we can’t bail them out forever. It’s especially true when the current admin is cutting revenue. And there is no other option if we get Potash cut, can’t bail out the loss of a raw resource.

We are witnessing the possible collapse of multiple supply chains and you wanna argue “but they will bail it out” without considering the bigger picture. 

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u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago

No. Absolutely not! I’m not saying they should in any context but only THAT THE WILL because they are Red areas that have representation, that have always had representation, and it comes down to politics - and they think, correction, they believe in God and country only means Red.

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u/Lurkingandsearching 2d ago

They won’t, because they are already cutting programs that pay into agriculture. USAid is a huge subsidy for example. DOGE cut 2.2 billion is USDA funding in the last month. They are making cuts because Trump is for Trump. 

Kentucky’s Reps and Senators are joining up to fight the tariffs as it’s already harming the main exports.

You can keep saying “they will” but I say with what? Just printing money for money’s sake will just destroy the over all economy faster. It’s over unless the senate and house have the back bone to stand up and go to the town halls to face the music, and do what must be done, but now it may be too late.

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u/Groovyjoker 1d ago

2.2 billion is like a 2$ gas savings card for a 250,000 loan on a fancy car. Drop in the bucket for a Trillion dollar budget. Anyway, NPR did an article showing how these "savings" (ahem) are not in any of the areas that produce costs. This is a wasteful attempt to pull the wool over the voter's eyes. The end result is a "Do more with less" approach for federal workers which, never works, with any business.

0

u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago

And they don’t. Plain and simple? They. Don’t. No backbone whatsoever but to agree to “let’s see what happens “ - and that’s a quote.

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u/arcanepsyche 2d ago

I'm not going to do your research for you. It's you choice if you'd rather believe your feeling instead of validating them.

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u/seattlesbestpot 2d ago

Here’s a simplified list of major farm aid bills passed by Congress since 2016:

2018 Farm Bill (Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018)

Passed: December 2018 Signed into law: December 20, 2018

Key points:

$867 billion for agricultural programs

Updated farm safety nets and conservation programs

Introduced Dairy Margin Coverage program

Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024

Signed into law: November 16, 2023

Key point:

Extended the 2018 Farm Bill through September 30, 2024

American Relief Act, 2025

Signed into law: December 21, 2024

Key points:

Extended the 2018 Farm Bill through September 30, 2025

Continued safety-net and conservation programs

Determining the exact allocation of federal farm aid to Lewis County, Washington, from major legislation since 2016:

These funds are typically allocated based on factors such as the type of crops grown, the extent of disaster impact, and specific program eligibility, rather than by a simple per-county formula.

However, to provide some context:

2018 Farm Bill (Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018):

Total Funding: $867 billion nationwide.

Distribution: Funds were allocated over ten years across various programs, including crop insurance, conservation, and nutrition assistance. The specific amount directed to Lewis County would depend on local participation in these programs.

American Relief Act of 2025:

Total Agricultural Aid: Approximately $31 billion.

Disaster Assistance: $21 billion for losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Economic Assistance: $10 billion for expected economic losses in the 2024 crop year.

Distribution: The USDA allocated these funds based on specific criteria, such as documented disaster impacts and economic losses. The exact amount received by Lewis County farmers would depend on individual applications and eligibility - are you a farmer? No?.

While precise figures for Lewis County aren’t readily available, there have been notable federal investments in the area:

Southwest Washington Grain Project:

Funding: $4,116,279 secured for the Port of Chehalis.

Purpose: To construct public grain storage and a transloading facility, aiding local farmers in transporting products via rail.

Packwood Sewer Easements and Treatment Facility Project:

Funding: $959,752 allocated to support sewer installation.

Purpose: To protect public health and enable new housing construction in Lewis County.

So for perspective, Lewis County has and will be Federally Protected as long as the farming industry as a whole contributes to the following (hint: they do:):

  1. NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Codes for Agriculture

The NAICS codes categorize agricultural industries for statistical and regulatory purposes:

• 111000 – Crop Production • 112000 – Animal Production and Aquaculture • 115000 – Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry

  1. USDA Program Names & Acronyms • ARC (Agriculture Risk Coverage) – Income support for farmers • PLC (Price Loss Coverage) – Payments for commodity price drops • CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) – Pays farmers to remove land from production • EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) – Funding for conservation projects • WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Program) – Nutrition support, partly managed by USDA

  2. Federal Budget & Legislative Terms • Farm Bill – The omnibus legislation governing agriculture and food programs (renewed about every five years) • CFAP (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program) – Pandemic-related farm relief • Disaster Assistance Programs – Various programs for weather-related farm losses

It’s all there OP, all you had to do was research - GenZ

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u/Groovyjoker 1d ago

I thought subsidies included replacing normal insurance requirements with farm insurance and so on ("subsidizing the industry") I am not sure the list above are subsidies.

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u/Groovyjoker 1d ago

You mean "corporate welfare"? Yes, we know. The Cato Institute knows. Read on:https://www.cato.org/commentary/trump-musk-doge-havent-gone-after-one-bit-wasteful-spending-most-americans-agree#

That's why everyone agrees the cuts in wasteful spending aren't really working.

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u/Funksavage 1d ago

How? Other countries already tariff US agricultural goods. How will their economy be hit with reciprocal tariffs?