The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board has issued a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, accusing him of turning U.S. farmers into collateral damage. In a sharply worded op-ed, the paper said the tariffs amount to a dangerous “game” that is leaving soybean producers and other agricultural workers struggling. The editors warned that the economic fallout shows “destruction is mutually assured,” not one-sided as the administration claims.
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Journal’s Scathing Editorial
In its Monday op-ed, the Journal took direct aim at Trump’s tariff strategy. “Whoever claimed trade wars are easy to win clearly wasn’t an American farmer,” the piece read. It highlighted the significant losses soybean growers are enduring as Chinese tariffs cut deeply into their largest export market. The editorial board accused the White House of ignoring the real cost of its policies on rural America.
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Farmers Face Heavy Losses
American soybean producers, once dominant in global trade, are among the hardest hit. After Trump imposed tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, Beijing responded by slapping a 20% tariff on U.S. soybeans. This retaliatory measure has driven China to purchase crops from countries like Brazil and Argentina, undercutting American farmers and leaving stockpiles unsold at home.
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Global Trade Retaliation
The Journal underscored that the administration miscalculated the global response. China, the world’s largest consumer of soybeans, quickly pivoted to other suppliers to offset the tariffs. While the Trump administration insisted the U.S. “holds all the cards,” the paper pointed out that retaliatory trade moves have proven just as damaging to American producers as to foreign markets.
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Mutual Destruction Warning
The editorial emphasized that trade wars are not one-sided victories. “The plight of America’s farmers is a reminder that the destruction of a trade war is mutually assured,” the editors wrote. The board criticized the White House’s claims that only foreign economies suffer under tariffs, calling such arguments a dangerous oversimplification of global economics.
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Administration’s Defense Questioned
The op-ed also called out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who argued that America’s market power guaranteed victory in Trump’s tariff disputes. The Journal countered that this theory collapses in the face of reality. “Tell that to America’s farmers,” the editors remarked, underscoring how agricultural communities are absorbing the steepest consequences of the policy.
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Larger Political Implications
Beyond the immediate financial toll, the editorial board suggested that Trump’s strategy risks alienating a crucial voting bloc. Farmers, who largely supported Trump in previous elections, are now feeling abandoned as their livelihoods erode under tariff pressure. The warning reflects growing unease even among conservative circles that the trade war could backfire politically.