Congressman Steve King appeared on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto” to discuss King’s concerns that America could be entering the early stages of a trade war with China. King is extremely concerned that the economic consequences of a trade war would fall disproportionately on American agriculture, such as pork and soybeans. In a particularly insightful and poignant moment, King reminded Cavuto that the Midwest still has never fully recovered from the economic consequences of Jimmy Carter’s decision to embargo grain sales to the former Soviet Union. Carter’s actions led to an economic downturn that lasted over a decade, cost many families their farms, homes, and property, and saw many young people leave rural communities never to return.
An Excerpt:
King: We saw what happened in the United States when Jimmy Carter on January 4, 1980 embargoed the grain that was exported then to the Soviet Union. When that happened it put us into an economic tailspin for an entire decade. A lot of us here in the Midwest…I have many scars from that. I paid 22% interest. We sold out family farm after family farm. They stood there and cried together during the auction. And I don’t want to see that again, Neil, and I’m afraid we’re going in that direction.
Cavuto: It took a decade to recover from that…you’re quite right.
King: Neil, I’d say in addition we didn’t actually recover because those kids that were standing there watching the farm be sold at auction got a degree and moved out of the neighborhood and didn’t come back.v
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