WAUSAU, Wis. (WAOW) — Experts met to discuss the ongoing challenges from the U.S.-China trade war at UWSP at Wausau.
Will Hsu of Hsu’s Ginseng and Robert Wachsmut of Chippewa Valley Bean discussed some of the issues they’ve faced.
Hsu said a number of rounds of tariffs on ginseng have affected his business in particular.
“What that means for farmers here locally is that the price for ginseng they receive has gone down, and it’s gone down two consecutive crop years,” Hsu said.
Now he’s having to compensate for loss sales in other ways.
“You find ways to cut costs on the farm, which is not good for anyone,” he said. “It means your yields tend to be poorer and you don’t have as good of a quality of crop.”
Wachsmut said his business is indirectly impacted by steel and aluminum tariffs.
“We have been struggling because most beans used worldwide or in the United States or Europe are canned,” Wachsmut said. “If these tariffs continue, will we lose our markets?”
But despite uncertainty, a new package of bills announced by Governor Tony Evers in his State of the State address seems to be bringing back a little hope for farmers.
One of the bills in the package would aim to increase Wisconsin’s agricultural exports.
