YAKIMA — Whether a trade deal with China will reverse the short- and long-term effects of the country’s tariffs on the Northwest tree fruit industry remains to be seen.
It could take weeks for the two countries to vet the agreement and disclose specific details, said Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council. The Yakima-based organization represents the tree fruit industry on public policy issues, including trade.
“We don’t have any details on what this means for tree fruit; that’s one of the big questions,” Powers said. “We’re hopeful there will be a reduction on tariffs. Ideally, they would go away. ”
China placed tariffs on several agricultural products grown and produced in Central Washington, including apples, cherries, hay and dairy. Overall, Washington agricultural products shipped to China in 2018 declined by 5.9 percent to $559 million.
Certain commodities, such as cherries, saw even more drastic drops in shipments.
For the past two cherry seasons, all fruit imported to China from the U.S. was hit with an additional 40 percent in tariffs — bringing the total duty to 50 percent. As a result, shipments to China dropped from some 3 million 20-pound boxes in 2017 to just under 2 million a year later.
“Back in 2017, before any of the tariffs, our sales to China were over $127 million,” Powers said. “This past year, we were at $76 million. There have clearly been lost sales, lost marketing opportunities.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture included cherries in a $16 billion package aimed at supporting growers affected by tariffs. Under the later iteration of the Market Facilitation Program, cherry growers were eligible for 17 cents per acre for a maximum payment of $125,000 for farmers who applied for relief in 2018 and $250,000 for those who applied in 2019.
With apples — also hit with a 50 percent tariff — shipments dropped from 1.1 million 40-pound boxes during the 2017-18 season, before any significant duties, to about 908,000 boxes a year later. Approximately 196,000 boxes of the 2019 apple crop have been shipped to China as of Nov. 30, a drop from 257,000 boxes from the same period in 2018.
The USDA plans to purchase up to $88 million in fresh apples and apple products over the next year to aid growers affected by tariffs.
But there have been other long-term effects that money nor a trade deal may not be able to fix, Powers said.
Over the past few years, the tariffs have caused the U.S. to lose market share to other countries. As nationalism in China grows, the country may not have the willingness to maintain or increase the purchase of U.S. agricultural products, regardless of the trade deal.
“The big question in my mind — does this ceasefire and escalation of the war translate into specific gains for apple, pear and cherry growers?” Powers said. “We don’t have an answer.”
