Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
JACKSON, Miss. – Following the announcement from President Donald J. Trump this afternoon detailing his administration’s plan to implement reciprocal tariffs, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson issued the following statement.
I applaud President Trump’s actions today to reset global trade relations through the President’s “Liberation Day” tariff plan. America is not only in a trade war, we’ve been in a trade war for years now. This trade war has resulted in historic trade deficits that continue to hurt our farmers.
Foreign countries should not be allowed to engage in unfair practices which put our American producers and industries at a disadvantage. Unbalanced heavy tariffs on American products are unacceptable, and foreign government subsidies on their goods undercut the American free market. Our producers and industries should not suffer a competitive disadvantage for following safe, respectable labor practices, and ensuring production is safe for human health and the environment, when other countries endanger worker health, consumer safety, and the environment to make products cheaply.
In particular, reciprocal tariffs make sense. It is only fair that tariffs be applied to foreign goods being sold in the United States, when American products are charged tariffs when sent to other countries. For many countries, President Trump’s plan calls for discounted reciprocal tariffs, roughly half that of the tariffs being charged to the U.S.
I believe President Trump’s actions today will set the stage for the renegotiation of better trade deals that will benefit American farmers and all our domestic industries going forward and will also serve to spur more local production. In the meanwhile, we will continue our efforts to expand markets for Mississippi products both locally, nationally and internationally.
I would also like to applaud U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins for today’s announcement of the agricultural trade promotions programs. These programs play a critical role in opening new international markets for our agricultural products and have allowed the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, as well as several Mississippi food companies and agribusinesses, to host trade missions and implement international market promotions which have resulted in increased exports of Mississippi’s agricultural goods and forestry products. These programs have also made it possible to participate in international trade missions, like the trade mission to Panama I will be participating in next week.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi
