US farmers who are major exporters of pork and soy, are caught in the middle of President Donald Trump's trade wars.

And farmers along with the industries that support them, are also key voters. So with 18 months to go before the presidential election, Trump is hoping to put them at ease and keep their support.

But as trade barriers continue to bite deeper into an industry that was already suffering low prices and falling income, there are signs of mounting frustration.

"Our great Patriot Farmers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of what is happening now," Trump said Tuesday on Twitter.

He said he hoped China would "do us the honor" of continuing to buy US farm exports but even if they do not, the government "will be making up the difference" by buying crops to prop up prices.

The tweets came a day after China announced it was raising tariffs on $60 billion in US agricultural and manufactured goods to retaliate for Trump's decision last week to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese merchandise.

Rural areas are generally more conservative and favorable to Trump, but they have been shaken by the conflict that has brought soy bean exports to China in particular to a screeching halt.

Last year's exports fell by 75 percent from 2017, according to Commerce Department figures.

And over the last year, they have been targeted not only by China but also the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

For now, while many continue to support Trump, others "are not so sure," according to Will Rodger, head of communications for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"We don't have hard numbers that tell us exactly how strong support or opposition may be but our gut feeling is most farmers still support the president since they like many of his policies across the board," he told AFP in an email.

Sid Ready, a farmer in Scribner, Nebraska, says the trade war has hurt but farmers were hanging in there.

"We understand it and I think farmers are pretty darn resilient," he said. "In the long run, we hope it works."

Their patience has limits, Rodger said, as revenues have been falling for six years due to global oversupply.

From a record $123.4 billion in 2013, farm incomes had fallen by about half as of last year to $63.1 billion, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Many farmers in the Midwestern US breadbasket also have been devastated by floods that destroyed crops and prevented planting.

The American Soybean Association says it generally supports the Trump administration's trade objectives, just not the means used to reach them.

- 'We always win' -

Soy farmers are "frustrated" that Chinese and US negotiators have been unable to strike a bargain and worry their entire business is in danger.

"With depressed prices and unsold stocks expected to double by the 2019 harvest, soybean farmers are not willing to be collateral damage in an endless tariff war," ASA President Davie Stephens said in a statement Monday.

Many fear their Chinese customers, who once bought about a third of the US soy crop, may soon buy even more from Brazil instead.

The Chinese export market for soy took more than 40 years to develop, and as the trade conflict persists "it will become increasingly difficult to recover."

Other buyers, like the European Union, may step in to fill the gap left by China. Still, about two thirds of global soy exports are destined for China.

In his Tuesday tweets, Trump said the "massive tariffs" currently in place will pay for government bailouts for suffering farms.

Last week, he suggested the government could purchase the crops and send it as food aid to poor nations.

In July 2018, the government unveiled a $12 billion bailout fund and US farmers already receive about $20 billion in annual assistance through various aid programs.

And the National Pork Producer's Council said last week it "welcomes the offer of assistance from President Trump."

"We stand ready to work with the USDA to facilitate US pork exports as food aid to a number of nations," NPCC President David Herring said in a statement.

Exports now account for 26 percent of all US pork production, of which a large share is normally shipped to China.

Trump on Tuesday called the US-China trade war a "little squabble" and predicted ultimate victory.

"We always win. We always win," he said.

Trump calls trade war with China 'a little squabble'
Washington (AFP) May 14, 2019 - President Donald Trump on Tuesday labeled the escalating trade war with China "a little squabble" and again accused Beijing of scuttling an agreement when it was near completion.

And although he said he has an "extraordinary" relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Trump insisted he will not sign onto any deal unless it is a good one.

"We're having a little squabble with China because we've been treated very unfairly for many decades," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Last week, Trump moved to more than double the punitive duties on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese merchandise and the latest round of US-China trade negotiations ended without a deal.

On Monday, China hit back, announcing a sharp increase in duties on thousands of US agricultural and manufactured goods in retaliation.

And the US has begun the process of carrying out the Republican president's threat to hit all imports from China, extending tariffs to another $300 billion worth of Chinese merchandise.

"We're looking at that very strongly," Trump said.

He said the tough US stance is working and Beijing wants to make a deal, but he also blamed the Chinese leadership for the setback in the negotiations.

"We had a deal that was very close and then they broke it. More than renegotiate, they really broke it. We can't have that happen."

- World's piggy bank -

Trump launched the trade war last year to extract profound economic reforms from Beijing and reduce the US trade deficit.

He accused China of seeking to dominate global industries through massive state subsidies and theft of American technology -- in violation of commitments it made upon joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.

The United States and China have so far exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade.

Since last year, the trade war has gutted US farm exports to China and weighed on the manufacturing sectors in both countries.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump pledged to help hard-hit American farmers caught in the middle of the escalating trade war.

The administration last year offered $12 billion in compensation to American farmers and has vowed to do more, using the revenues from the new tariffs -- which he incorrectly claims is paid by China rather than US importers -- to buy crops and support prices.

"This money will come from the massive Tariffs being paid to the United States for allowing China, and others, to do business with us. The Farmers have been 'forgotten' for many years. Their time is now!" Trump tweeted.

"We're the piggy bank everybody likes to take advantage of or take from. We can't let that happen anymore," Trump then told reporters.

He has made the US trade deficit a key focus on his policies, taking the unusual view that Americans lose money by buying products from abroad.

Economists are nearly unanimous in saying trade benefits companies and consumers by providing products from countries that make them more efficiently and cheaply.

Trump said consumers can get around the tariffs by buying from other providers, or companies can move to the United States to manufacture their goods.

"That's what I really want. You want to know something? We always win. We always win," he said.

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