NEW YORK, NY - While many of us are wondering how the tariff disputes are going to impact our industry, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is staying cool, calm, and collected about the whole process, convinced of a happy ending to the currently tumultuous conversations had on the subject.

In a recent discussion with Fox News, Perdue likened the adjustment to Trump’s tariff strategy with China, the European Union, and others to weight loss—painful at first, but ultimately healthy. With a set of 10-percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods set to take effect on August 23^rd, Perdue acknowledged the anxiety over their impact in the U.S.

“China has not been playing by the rules for years, and we’ve allowed, year after year, them to get away with that. And frankly, we’ve got barriers across the world, not just in China, but in the European Union. If we turned our farmers loose in America, they would own the market internationally,” Perdue expressed. “President Trump is saying, ‘Enough is enough. If you want free trade, let’s have fair trade,’ And that’s the ultimate goal of bringing people to the table: to say—even to our friends like Mexico and Canada—bring them to the table and say, ‘You know, it’s kind of tilted here, let’s level this playing field and allow our producers to compete competitively with yours, and we’ll be fine.'”

Perdue recognized that the tariffs are a touchy subject for Californian farmers, in particular. Having just recently visited the Golden State to see how the wildfires affected the agricultural community and its land, Perdue remains steadfast in his conviction that the farmers know Trump’s tariff plan will eventually make everything better. He nodded to future tariff talks with hopeful optimism for resolve with Mexico and Japan.

“Farmers get that. They’re patriots. They understand when people don’t play by the rules,” Perdue shared. “We’ve been the Boy Scouts internationally on the trade area, and we’ve played by the rules. And President Trump is trying to make sure that, in this game of international trade, others play by the rules, too.”

When Perdue was in California, he met with farmers to discuss their concerns about Trump's stance on tariffs and the new relief package for farmers that aims to assist during the current conversations, as well as immigration.

“We do get overlooked in comparison to the rest of the Midwest. It is difficult,” Jeannie Campos of Campos Brothers Farms told Perdue, according to GV Wire, expressing concerns that the company would not see much benefit from the proposed funds because it farms nuts. “We are not in a better positon, but in a different position from our fruit friends, because an almond doesn’t perish as quickly as fresh fruit.”

To this, Perdue reassured farmers that they are being heard.

“We are trying to figure out an equitable, fair way to allocate this money,” Perdue responded. “First of all, it will not make people whole. It is like any insurance. If you crash your car, or your house gets burned, you never feel like you’re being made whole with insurance.”

For more updates on the tariff front and how it is expected to impact ag, stick with AndNowUKnow.