In a wide-ranging address at the American Farm Bureau convention on Monday, President Donald Trump reassured American farmers that his government is acting in their interests.

“We are getting trade deals that are going to get you so much business you’re not even going to believe it,” he told the convention.

“You’re going to be doing business with Canada, you’re going to be doing business with places where it is very difficult to do business. A lot of great things are going to happen.”

Critical of European approach

Trump was critical of Europe’s approach to agricultural trade with America.

“The European Union treats our farmers terribly; they have tariffs and they have barriers.

"We are working with them; they have to treat us fairly. We are losing $151bn a year with the European Union.”

In the last 15 years, we have seen a decline in the US agricultural trade

He outlined deals with Argentina for American pork, India and Morocco for American poultry, as well as access to China for American beef.

He also mentioned access to Japan for potatoes and lamb, as well as the new deal with Canada and Mexico which replaces NAFTA.

“In the last 15 years, we have seen a decline in the US agricultural trade.

"We are turning all that around with fair trade deals that put American farmers, American ranchers and America first.

"US beef has been shipped to Brazil for the first time since 2003. We are going to have a great new leader, they say he is the Donald Trump of South America.”

The ongoing government shutdown in the States over the Mexican wall is having an impact on farmers, but the convention was a welcoming audience for Trump.

The shutdown has held up farm payments and loans.

Export markets for US crops such as soya beans are hit by the trade war with China.

However, Trump maintained that the wall on the border with Mexico is necessary and that it will not cause problems for migrant labour on American farms.

“We want to take people in to help our farmers. We are actually going to make that easier for them.

"You need these people. I’m going to make that easier for them to come in and work the farms.

"We are keeping the wrong ones out, for that it’s going to be almost impossible to come in. There is no substitute for a wall or a physical barrier.

"And we opened China to American beef for the first time in many many years. That’s peanuts compared to what we’re talking about.

"We want a fair deal for American farmers removing China’s arbitrary bans on our agricultural exports, safeguarding our intellectual property, providing fair market access to all American producers."

Trump reminded farmers that he signed the Farm Bill just before Christmas, “the first to be passed on time in over 30 years”.

And to much applause, he talked about the reversing of “harmful federal intrusion” by eliminating the estate tax, also known as the death tax.

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