Brazil & Chinese Banks: Thanks Mr. Trump for the JBS & WH Group Pork Bailouts

Trump Proudest Moment: Tariff Proclamation Signed

(Harmful to Cheaters Like China)

Tariff Bailout Table this Way, Jinping

(Next bailout stop: Brazil)

The Trump “Art of the Con” smack dab in our face:

Chinese-owned AND a Brazilian-owned pork producers are eligible for Federal payments under Trump’s $12 billion farm bailout, a program that was established to help U.S. farmers hurt by Trump’s trade war with China.

The Chinese company “Smithfield Foods,” a VA-based pork producer acquired in 2013 by a Chinese conglomerate now named “WH Group,” and “JBS” a subsidiary of a Brazilian company by the same name, are both eligible to apply for the Federal money (according to the bailout program created this summer says Agriculture Department spokesman Carl Purvis).

(Note: Combined the two companies are the biggest pork producers in the U.S. that according to the National Pork Board, a quasi-government agency).

Further, the Trump administration has hailed the plan as an effort to shield farmers from retaliatory tariffs from China (Note: That they themselves caused).

However, the possibility of U.S. tax dollars flowing to foreign-owned firms underscores the difficulty of trying to craft government programs that benefit only domestic firms, which Trump said and promised, “Believe me!”

The international reach of such companies makes it hard to ensure that federal dollars stay in U.S. hands, regardless of their intended target.

The bailout program has also angered smaller hog producers, who expressed frustration that it appears likely to help large, international farms that already dominate the U.S. pork market. 

(But, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and his son, who own a big soybean farm, can also benefit, plus now Grassley does not approve of the Chinese pork bailout. Irony? 100%...).

Also, noteworthy regarding both of these companies:

“WH Group, Smithfield’s owner,” said in its 2017 annual financial statement that its American operations account for about 60 percent of its overall revenue, as well as close to half of its profits.

Lawmakers have probed ties between the “WH Group and the Chinese government. The previously named “Shuanghui,” received a $4B from a Chines state-run bank to buy Smithfield in 2013 – a move aligns with Chinese objectives (according to the Center for Investigative Reporting).

“The WH Group” did not respond to a request for comment about its relationship with the Chinese government and neither did a “JBS spokesman” when multiple requests for comment were asked from them.

My 2 cents: Folks, we have been conned by the greatest business mind ever; no not Bernie Madoff (he’s in prison) – I mean by Donald J. Trump.

His “MAGA” slogan is as pathetic as he is. 

How about: “KBCG (Keep Brazil and China Great)” – okay, Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer?

Tell your Rep. and Senator to reverse this Trump-run policy con –ASAP would be just fine.

Original story source (Washington Post) here and via my local newspaper here.

Thanks for stopping by.