Experts say 50-60% of US wool is usually shipped to China, processing the raw materials into thread, cloth and clothing.
Some sheep farmers are affected by the US-China trade war in the form of unsold wool.
According to the American Sheep Industry Association, China usually exports most of the wool of 50-60%, and China serves as a major buyer and processor.
Under Trump administration Trading policy, currently a 145% tax rate Americans now have to pay Chinese import fees. In response, China hiked 125% of the collection this month for US goods imports.
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While President Trump’s tariffs on China have hit the American wool industry, some American sheep farmers say their exports are intertwined with the trade war. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News/Fox News)
Some American farmers say their exports have been caught up in geopolitical crossfire.
Mike Harper owns a family-run feed called Harper’s Feeder in Eton, Colorado. Harper said his feedlot has the capacity of 65,000 sheep, but the job is getting quite difficult.
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“I’ve seen the industry do nothing more than shrinking since I was a boy,” Harper said.
Wool producers who already work under high input costs and tight margins are tackling additional losses related to new tariffs.
The Colorado rancher says rising input costs and uncertainty in exports are putting pressure on his revenue this year. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News/Fox News)
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“Losing $7-8 per head in stock is quite a thing,” Harper explained. “We still rely heavily on the meat trade. It’s a value for us, but it all increases.”
The American Sheep Industry Association says some cargo had already been arranged earlier this year, but when Chinese tariffs resurrected, some containers were stopped or re-routed.
Regarding imports from many countries where Trump’s 10% baseline tariffs are currently in effect
Peter Orwick is executive director of the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and says “a national organization representing the interests of more than 100,000 sheep growers across the United States from east to west, with herds of pasture-based herds in their range.”
Industry experts say that major wool-producing states like California and Mountain West have particularly severely affected tariffs that are disrupting supply chains. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News/Fox News)
“We had a sale set up this spring,” Orwick said. “But if you didn’t have a ship in the water, they’d face retaliatory tariffs. So we know we have containers that are not moving.”
California and Mountain West make up a large portion of wool production nationwide, according to the association.
Meanwhile, because China is the world’s top wool processor, American wool is often sent overseas to become thread, fabric, or clothing. Many of them will later be sold to US consumers.
Orwick explains that the country’s sheep industry has been under economic pressure for many years, and experts note that the tariffs imposed in 2018 took an early blow. Orwick said the decline would deepen during the pandemic when remote work eased demand for formal, wool-based apparel.
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“You’re combining it with the pandemic and a decline in demand for office attire,” Orwick said.
Orwick said US producers are currently looking for alternative buyers, such as Italy and Eastern Europe.
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President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that the overall tariff levels currently imposed on 145% (currently 145%) would be “not zero.” He said the trade deal with China would be “very successful.”
