News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
91.7FM Alpena and WCML-TV Channel 6 Alpena are off the air. Click here to learn more.

Agricultural leaders want Biden to ease tariffs

Farmers for Free Trade held a virtual roundtable with workers from throughout the food and agriculture supply chain to discuss the current trade landscape.

Chair of the Michigan Milk Producers Association Doug Chapin said easing tariffs in Southeast Asia would help U.S. dairy farmers catch up with competitors in the European Union and New Zealand.

"We’re not operating what I would say is a comprehensive free trade agreement in those areas," he said. "That’s what we really need. That would open up more doors and put us on equal footing with other trading countries there."

Dairy farms are holding their own right now, Chapin said. They’re optimistic based on the way Biden is upholding existing trade deals.

“Trade’s always complicated," he said. "We see the ag piece, they’ve gotta see the whole piece."

Ben Jodway is an intern, serving as a reporter for WCMU Public Media and the Pioneer in Big Rapids. He has covered Indigenous communities and political extremism in Michigan.