Tariffs, hog farms and Republicans

by | Apr 3, 2018 | Editor's Blog, NC Politics, Trump | 10 comments

The hog industry has always had a contentious existence in North Carolina. It moved to the state in the early 1990s when regulations in Midwestern states sent the growers looking for new territory. North Carolina was ripe for picking. The tobacco industry was dying and eastern North Carolina had large swathes of rural real estate that needed use. Now, it’s being threatened by Trump’s trade policies.

On the positive side, the industry saved many communities in the rural North Carolina. The state became one of the largest producers of hogs in the nation and Smithfield opened the largest hog processing plant in the country in the little town of Tar Heel. More than 40,000 North Carolinians work in the industry and it adds more than $2.5 billion to the economy with an overall impact of almost $9 billion.

On the downside, the hog farms stink and create a lot waste. Disposing of that waste has been a subject of dispute since the industry first started its rapid expansion in the early 1990s. Waterways have been polluted by spills from lagoons and runoff from farms. Recently, the legislature has tried to protect hog farms from lawsuits but that hasn’t stopped them from proceeding.

The low-skilled jobs in the processing side have attracted large numbers of immigrants and controversy both over their residency and their treatment. Labor strife led to unionization of the Tar Heel plant. It’s been an industry that is hard to love.

Now, China is imposing tariffs on U.S. pork products in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. While China only makes up about 3% of the pork sold, the threat of a broader trade war, especially if Trump follows through on his pledge to pull out of NAFTA, could devastate the industry. Unemployment would skyrocket and farms would almost certainly close.

The hog industry is predominantly clustered in southeastern North Carolina in counties that went heavily for Trump. If farms start failing, the trade wars could put Republicans in a difficult position. In particular, Congressman David Rouzer (R-07) could find himself in trouble. He represents much of the territory where hog farms are a major economic force and he’s been steadfast in his support for Trump.

The hog industry has had a troubled history even if it’s been an economic success for eastern North Carolina. Still, few people want to see it go, especially in areas dependent on pork production for survival. Trump, though, could reduce the number of farms and workers dramatically if he causes a broader trade war and Republicans could pay a price in an area they’ve long assumed safe.

10 Comments

  1. Smithson Mills

    Mr. Mills is clearly not excited about negative economic impacts on rural farms families and processing plant workers. As to the previous commenter’s statement about this hurting illegal immigration, you need a little history lesson. Smithfield Foods’ Tarheel plant was raided by immigration authorities several times under the Bush and Obama administrations. The result was that undocumented workers left the plant years ago and were replaced by locals. Once that happened, the workforce voted to unionize. Plant management didn’t want to hire locals because they would demand more pay for the incredibly hard work of killing and cutting up hogs so that the rest of us can enjoy good NC BBQ, bacon, and pork chops.

    By the way, Smithfield Foods, along with the Tarheel plant, is owned by a Chinese pork company, which is in turn partially owned by global investors like Goldman Sachs, Russian oligarchs, and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

    If there are undocumented workers who will lose their jobs, it will be on family-owned farms that take a big financial hit from a collapse in soybean prices. The US is a major soybean exporter to China. They can buy that from Brazil.

    • ebrun

      According to Mr. Mills. “The low-skilled jobs in the processing side have attracted large numbers of immigrants and controversy both over their residency and their treatment.” You state that undocumented workers all left the processing plants years ago. Interesting point. Thanks for setting the record straight.

  2. smartysmom

    I seem to remember the large NIMBY movement involvong the growing NC pork industry as in the locals were not very happy with the unintended consequences of the things occurring in their back yard (stink, filth, polution. I was left with the impression that all those pigs were good for someone, but not the people Just saying.

  3. Progressive Wing

    Do the math.

    Eastern NC is the center of the state’s billion dollar pork industry.
    _________________________________________________
    + Voters in eastern NC counties voted for Trump in a big way.
    ______________________________________________
    + Trump starts a wholly unnecessary trade war with China by tariffing steel/aluminum imports.
    _________________________________________________________________________
    + China retaliates by tariffing its US pork imports
    ______________________________________

    Subtotal: Reduced exports profitability of the NC pork industry, leading to reductions in pork industry jobs and investments.

    – Eastern NC Trump supporters can’t do simple addition (and don’t understand economic multiplier effects) so they continue to support the Dunce-in-Chief and do little to nothing to end new wave of protectionism..

    Final Total: As with HB2 and the failure to expand Medicaid, NC takes another unnecessary economic hit due to GOP actions/policies.

    • ebrun

      Right, PW, it’s those country bumpkins who can’t add and subtract and that don’t “understand economic multiplier effects” who support the GOP. (There must be some way to suppress their vote.) But what about all the immigrants who work in the pork plants? Do you think they vote Republican? Or are most of them undocumented and thus cannot legally vote in the U.S.? So there could be an unintended consequence– a reduced number of pork industry workers might result in a net outmigration of illegal immigrants from NC ( i.e., potential Democratic voters).

      Here’s a strategy for NC liberals who hate the President and worry about hog farms–boycott NC barbeque, which is nothing but pulled pork. That could teach those country bumpkins and NC Republicans a hard political lesson. LOL

      Mr. Mills seems excited by the prospect of a reduced number of farms and workers in the pork industry from a trade war caused by the President’s policies. Anything that might hurt NC Republicans is apparently fine with NC Democrats. However, I doubt Rep. Rouzer’s reelection will be threatened as the result of a predicted “trade war.”

      BTW, NC’s economy continues to thrive. We tied for 9th place among the 50 states in 2017 personal income percentage growth, which was well above the national average. It’s unlikely that a Chinese tariff on 3 percent of total pork sold will make much of a dent in our state’s expanding economy.

      • uknowimright

        Dang, Ebrun. You certainly have a lot of time on your hands. You need to find another hobby other than commenting on everyone’s posts on this website. Jees, give peace a chance for christ’s sake.

        • Ebrun

          Hey, my friend. If you don’t like my posts, don’t read them. It’s as simple as that. Cause I going to continue to comment when I feel it’s appropriate. And Christ has nothing to do with it. LOL

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