World Grain - August 2018 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

In a trade war, nobody wins
EDITORIAL STAFF

o industry has been better served by
the trend in recent decades toward
increased globalization and free trade
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producers and traders of grain and grainbased products throughout the world.
Through the years, the walls of protectionism have been torn down as countries
such as Russia and China, which for many
years wanted nothing to do with free trade,
have become willing and highly successful
participants. Thirty years ago no one would
have imagined that Russia would be the
world's leading wheat exporter, but that's
exactly what has transpired.
Likewise, no one would have envisioned
the United States, always a powerful and
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the charge against it, ripping up agreements
with longtime trading partners and imposing high tariffs on foreign-made goods from
countries that mercurial U.S. President Donald Trump claims are holding the upper hand
in unfair trade deals with the United States.
But this wave of anti-globalization sentiment isn't unique to America. Across the
Atlantic Ocean, Europe is grappling with
Britain's jaw-dropping decision to leave the
European Union, which is a deterrent to free
trade in that part of the world.
Remarkably, that is the sobering reality
today, and advocates of free trade everywhere, including World Grain, are alarmed
at this stunning turn of events.
At the epicenter of these seismic developments is the trade war that is growing between the world's two biggest economies,
the United States and China. In July, Trump
slapped 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum
as well as other Chinese-made products,
and China, in turn, imposed 25% tariffs on
a number of U.S.-based items, most notably
soybeans.
During a meeting of the World Trade Organization last month in Paris, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo outlined the
economic and systemic threats posed by the
growing tensions in global trade and called
on "everyone who believes in trade as a
force for good" to speak up in its defense.

Azevedo, who has been working feverishly with political leaders, business leaders and the media to increase the awareness and understanding of what's at stake,
correctly noted that a full-blown trade
war between China and the United States
would have a ripple effect that would expand to even the world's smallest, least
developed countries.
"Tensions are growing," Azevedo told the
assembled WTO members. "New measures
are being announced with increasing freTXHQF\7KHUHLVUHDODQGMXVWL¿HGFRQFHUQ
about the escalation we are seeing. Whether
or not you call it a trade war, certainly the
¿UVWVKRWVKDYHEHHQ¿UHG&RQWLQXHGHVFDlation would risk a major economic impact,
which would pose a serious threat to jobs,
growth and recovery in all countries."
One ray of hope in this matter is that
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globalization movement and a businessman
who is an experienced dealmaker, is known
to ask for the moon and settle for the stars
as a negotiating tactic. Already, after weeks
of threats and bluster, Trump and E.U. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have
agreed to hold off proposed automobile tariffs and work to resolve their dispute on steel
and aluminum as they pursue a bilateral trade
deal. One can only hope a similar agreement
can be reached with China so that U.S. soyEHDQVFDQVWDUWÀRZLQJLQWR&KLQDZKLFKLV
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In a world where most of the population lives in areas where agricultural production is limited, free trade is the key to
providing
affordable,
nutritious food to the
people of both highly
developed and developing nations.
Going back to an era
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protectionism would be
foolish on so many levels. There would be
no winners, only losers.

Editor-in-Chief
Morton I. Sosland
Editor
Arvin Donley
Executive Editor
Meyer Sosland
Managing Editor
Eric Schroeder
Associate Editor
Susan Reidy
Digital Media Associate Editor Holly Demaree
European Correspondent
Chris Lyddon
China Consultant
Fengcheng Wang
PUBLISHING STAFF
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Dan Flavin
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Audience
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Marj Potts
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Jim White
CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
President
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Director of Operations

Charles Sosland
L. Joshua Sosland
Staci Greco
Meyer Sosland

WORLD GRAIN (ISSN 0745-8991) Volume 36, issue 8,

is published monthly by Sosland Publishing Company,
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Arvin Donley
Editor

August 2018 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - August 2018

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