Trump’s Specious Trade Tweets
In recent tweets, President Donald Trump has made erroneous statements about U.S farmers, and soybean prices in particular, while complaining about trade barriers:
- He falsely claimed that “farmers have done poorly for 15 years.” In fact, U.S. farms “experienced a golden period during 2011 through 2014 due to strong commodity prices and robust agricultural exports,” according to a congressional report.
- Trump also falsely claimed the “price of soybeans has fallen 50%” in five years because of “bad (terrible) Trade Deals.” In fact, prices have returned to those in pre-drought years after a severe drought in 2012 reduced supply and increased
