Trump lies about the lobster industry

NBC Fact check: Trump says Obama 'destroyed' Maine's lobster industry. His own trade war is to blame. https://t.co/1MWz0KmHkV
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 29, 2020

Nope. The value of lobster landings increased under Obama and then took a sharp dip as soon as Trump took office. Thanks for the trade war. https://t.co/hGtXAhjHKJ

Signed, An Actual Maine Lobster Boat Captain https://t.co/LEvqp8j9mh
— Genevieve McDonald (@Genevieve_Maine) June 25, 2020

Two seconds here to look at how something tweeted by the president (or more likely someone in his team) might seem random, but isn’t. Exhibit A: 🦞 https://t.co/tfbxvaT9JW
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 25, 2020

Trump lies and lies

Lobster was a top Maine export, including to China. In response to Trump’s trade war, China put a 25% tariff on US lobster. Beijing also cut its tariff on lobster bought from Canada, Maine’s fierce rival.

Canada’s lobster exports to China nearly doubled. https://t.co/L2YKnmIJfR
— Chad P. Bown (@ChadBown) June 5, 2020

How are Trump’s farm subsidies being paid for?

Trump has given 30 billion dollars to farmers to compensate them for the costs of a trade war he started.

I have yet to hear a reporter or interviewer ask the president ‘how are you paying for that?’
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 15, 2020

Goldman Sachs casts doubt on Phase 1 US China Trade Deal Soybean Purchases: "The $40 billion figure represents a $24 billion (a year and)..an additional $16 billion for at least two years… there would need to be a big increase in soybean exports..https://t.co/khD2EAdk6S
— comparerateskenya.com (@comparerateske1) January 10, 2020

(Reuters) – Days before a US-China trade deal is due to be signed, large Chinese purchases of Brazilian soybeans and a pair of unexpected policy moves by Beijing have dimmed U.S. hopes that China would double its imports of American farm products this yearhttps://t.co/sdy3tMuDbn
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) January 10, 2020

Trump's trade war (reminder: it didn't address IP theft, currency manipulation & anti-competitive subsidies & hurt our farmers, consumers & manufacturers) pushed China to other markets.

Brazil will now overtake USA as world’s largest soybean producer. https://t.co/aatxwKxOF0
— J.D. Scholten (@JDScholten) December 11, 2019

Trump got into a trade war with China

China cut U.S. dairy purchases by more than 50%

818 dairy farms in Wisconsin went out of business in 2019. That's 10% of the state's dairies and the largest decline in Wisconsin history https://t.co/hjDDgntZMk
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) January 11, 2020

these payments — billed as help for the nation’s ordinary farmers but which go overwhelmingly to small niche of affluent, white large scale producers — are close to the purest form of trumpism https://t.co/UaZgQSxZlr
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) January 11, 2020

HEARTBREAKING: "Amid Trump Tariffs, Farm Bankruptcies And Suicides Rise" https://t.co/Sw53CKqSWl Via @Forbes #Farmers
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) January 1, 2020

Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected https://t.co/tdsHbeuY7u
— Nada Bakos (@nadabakos) January 1, 2020

And the bailout of farmers, which helped large farms much more than smaller independent farmers is now much greater than auto bailout of crisis. Too late for many as farm bankruptcies have surged and banks in rural areas have closed. That limits access to banking in rural areas https://t.co/4bqSZWvjbV
— Diane Swonk (@DianeSwonk) December 31, 2019

.@MaddowBlog: Farmers’ reality disproves rosy rhetoric from Team Trump.https://t.co/YWzdSayjvd
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 30, 2019

It’s always interesting to see what sorts of government programs face cries of socialism or demands that they be paid for. A $14.5 billion farm bailout doesn’t make the cut.https://t.co/1LQ8Ll1jve
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 30, 2019

Trump’s trade wars hurt farmers

Trump’s trade policy is hurting farmers. Trump lies about the estate tax changes. They won’t help many farmers. He has told this lie many times.

Stung by Trump’s Trade Wars, Wisconsin’s Milk Farmers Face Extinction https://t.co/QoGkV30jJy
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) April 27, 2019

This is so perfect.

Trump's trade war is hurting many farmers, yet when Trump claimed repeal of the estate tax will help farmers, his rally crowd cheered.

Peel back one layer of the Trump scam, and there's another lying beneath it.https://t.co/mx9XrtsenE pic.twitter.com/EYuYmL1aDh
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) April 28, 2019

Trump is now saying that the repeal of the estate tax will save family farms in a state where his trade policies are killing dairy farmers.
Everybody cheer!
(They cheer)
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) April 28, 2019

Trump lies, "We have virtually eliminated the estate tax." He merely raised the threshold at which it has to be paid, didn't eliminate it. As always, he also misleadingly suggests the estate tax was a particular burden for family farmers, almost none of whom paid it.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 14, 2019

The tweets from Daniel Dale are from prior times he has lied about this.

Trump again says he's cut the estate tax "for the farmers." Again: less than 1% of people paying the estate tax are farmers.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 20, 2017

Trump is, as always, highly misleading about the estate tax, saying farmers can now happily leave their farms to their children. Per the Tax Policy Center, a mere 80 farms and small businesses were among the 5,460 estates likely to pay the estate tax in 2017, before Trump's law.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 5, 2018

Trump: Ending the estate tax would "protect millions of small businesses and the American farmer." Pants on Firehttps://t.co/sUQh1s7qJT pic.twitter.com/pnMv0j0Uq9
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) December 20, 2017

Trump called the estate tax a ‘tremendous burden’ on family farmers. Here’s the truth.

Benefits from Trump’s NAFTA replacement will be much smaller than he claims

A government report concluded Thursday that the Trump administration’s revised North American trade agreement would offer modest benefits to the economy, challenging the president’s claims that the accord would make far-reaching changes https://t.co/g3qD17WCcb
— Ana Swanson (@AnaSwanson) April 18, 2019

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the new NAFTA would, six years after it came into force, increase US GDP by 0.35% ($68.2 billion) and increase employment by 0.12% (176,000 jobs). So: a positive impact, but small. https://t.co/woi0rWIbD8
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 18, 2019

Speaking of NAFTA:

Context: the USMCA's onerous automotive rules of origin were, per the WH itself, drafted for American autoworkers. https://t.co/MPIqzZD2fX
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) March 5, 2019

Your periodic reminder that the USMCA has yet to be ratified by any of the three countries and has not taken effect https://t.co/yaqvwLJ6nf
— Megan Cassella (@mmcassella) March 14, 2019

Another Trump lie

Canada may tie its approval of trade deal to removal of Trump’s tariffs https://t.co/tXgMcJ2xKy
— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) March 25, 2019

President Trump’s unpredictable style has brought foreign countries to the negotiating table. But will it result in the United States leaving with more? https://t.co/eHipIYapka
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 16, 2019

Trump’s NAFTA replacement

“It’s just a report”: A coalition of business groups urging Congress to approve the USMCA tells me that people shouldn’t pay too much attention to the coming official estimate of how the deal will affect the US economy: https://t.co/x2isRWTvOv
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 4, 2019

The ITC report expected later this month is widely expected to say that the USMCA will have a very small positive impact at best, a negative impact at worst. The Pass USMCA Coalition says “the benefits of the deal are crystal clear regardless of what the report shows.”
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 4, 2019

Experts agree with pro-USMCA business groups that the coming analysis might have trouble quantifying some legit benefits of the new deal. Regardless, a negative or neutral conclusion could make it even harder to get Democratic votes.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 4, 2019

Strong signal that those USMCA "side letters" — that Trump negotiated — that Mexico thought would protect Mexican auto production from Trump's 25% national security car tariffs were NOT worth the paper they were printed on. https://t.co/fCmzspafRk
— Chad P. Bown (@ChadBown) April 5, 2019

They were foolish to believe Trump.

Sen. Grassley tells Trump he has three months to get USMCA done this year — and stresses the president wants it done this year — but the 232 tariffs have to go.

USMCA “is supposed to be a free trade agreement. But we don’t have free trade with these tariffs in place,” he says. https://t.co/3aDovP1Mxd
— Jenny Leonard (@jendeben) April 2, 2019

Leading this week's PAY DIRT: a veteran GOP operative (and BMW lobbyist) is simultaneously running advocacy groups promoting Trump's USMCA and warning the deal could kill thousands of automotive jobs https://t.co/WiEy1P92OZ
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 4, 2019

New IMF analysis of NAFTA 2.0 (USMCA) predicts it will have a small overall impact, but generate aggregate welfare LOSSES & bigger trade deficits for the USA:https://t.co/C7bqdvgDcZ pic.twitter.com/PGPCbjaEq4
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) March 29, 2019

A legit question for this WH is how Americans are expected to know when POTUS means what he says. In 1 week he has promised immediate action, released threats that imperiled the USMCA, then punted. What happens when he's in a situation where he doesn't have time to waffle? https://t.co/nxAxmd2T0h
— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) April 4, 2019

The USMCA ratification is up in the air, and talks on steel/aluminium tariffs are stalled. I took a look at the NAFTA state of play and it is…not good https://t.co/r0zORuGy1L
— Adrian Morrow (@AdrianMorrow) April 4, 2019

Today, I sent a letter to @USTradeRep Robert Lighthizer raising serious concerns about the #USMCA.

The lack of trade protections for U.S. seasonal growers threatens crops, jobs, and our economy.

We need a solution that puts American farmers and families first. pic.twitter.com/R1H4cN3U5m
— Commissioner Nikki Fried (@NikkiFriedFL) April 5, 2019

Trump doesn’t understand MOUs

Trump doesn’t understand that MOUs are binding.

Robert Lighthizer had to explain a memo of understanding to Trump in front of Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

Trump: "They don't mean anything." RL: "It's a legal term. It's a contract."
Trump: "By the way I disagree."

The Vice Premier laughed out loud. https://t.co/kqF0yM7eJx
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 23, 2019

Reminiscent of telling Mulvaney he effed it all up during spending bill negotiations for wall money…there can only be one chief negotiator, and he sits behind the Resolute Desk https://t.co/s4yI143Qq7
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 24, 2019

Amazing. In front of Chinese VP, Trump declares the MOU meaningless. Lighthizer, seeing the havoc this statement could wreak, corrects him. But Trump repeats that it's meaningless. So Lighthizer changes his words to appease the toddler. See last 5 minutes: https://t.co/cE6O0kiScK https://t.co/UKkGEGooym
— Will Saletan (@saletan) February 23, 2019

Trump’s trade war is bad for farmers

“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” https://t.co/uxHwAho9M9
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 17, 2019

U.S. farmers in the Midwest are filing for bankruptcy at levels the U.S. hasn’t seen for approximately a decade, due in large part to Trump’s tariffs and his trade war with China.#TrumpTariffs https://t.co/dcEFjnlrAy
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) February 11, 2019

Trump claims tariffs brought China to its knees. His trade war is hurting Midwest farmers instead.https://t.co/lDYGNGd9Xb pic.twitter.com/HwQeAcSbEL
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) February 17, 2019

The Department of Agriculture has paid out $7,700,000,000 to farmers so far in aid designed to offset the negative impact from Trump's trade war, Reuters reports. https://t.co/i7oD5M1iHJ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 22, 2019

Trump’s trade war is keeping Russian fish sticks in US schools

How Trump's trade war kept Russian fish sticks in US school lunchrooms https://t.co/OKDpTMFY8k pic.twitter.com/a2JOcqUMNa
— CNN (@CNN) February 7, 2019

Trump lies about the trade deficit with China for the 100th time

MILESTONE: Trump just lied about the trade deficit with China for the 100th time as president. "We lost $500 billion a year with China for many years," he says, and there has never once been a $500 billion trade deficit with China, and one day I will not tweet about this.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 1, 2019

China imported no US soybeans in November

This is what Trump’s trade policies get us. He’s not making good deals – he’s harming US businesses.

The U.S. soybean stockpile is growing and that's an issue https://t.co/Az6fCqEhZR by @adrianambells pic.twitter.com/CfLdvOyLT9

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) December 29, 2018

Quitting TPP was stupid for so many reasons. Gave all other members a competitive advantage over the US, as this recent news shows.
But biggest giveaway was geopolitical. Imagine how much stronger US position would be if confronting China as head of a large bloc rather than alone https://t.co/nn0VrGULhd

— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) December 30, 2018

And because trump threw out TPP which went ahead without us, exports for farmers in Canada and Australia are booming. Yep, trump sure does care about his constituents in the farm belt. Their customers are never coming back. https://t.co/NZQqshESo1

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) December 29, 2018

This is monumentally bad news for American agriculture and there is no public subsidy that can fix it. https://t.co/v9k1SbmwmY

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 30, 2018

One of the only GOP House pickups was in Minnesota’s 1st District, home to many soybean farmers, who voted to support the party enabling the trade war threatening their livelihoods. GOP attack ads focused on the patriotism of the Democrat—a veteran who served two tours in Iraq. https://t.co/qD6mh8pxHZ

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 29, 2018

China's soybean imports from the US plunged to zero in November, marking the first time since the trade war between the world's two largest economies started that China, the world's largest soybean buyer, has imported no U.S. supplies. https://t.co/CS5AIB9gpM

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 29, 2018