The latest survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states shows the economy sagging under the weight of retaliatory tariffs, as the region’s manufacturing sector sheds jobs for the sixth straight month. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the September survey indicates many farmers are in for a difficult harvest season as the Trump administration tariffs are backfiring with one of the biggest trading partners. China bought about 60-percent of all U-S soybean exports last year and is now buying none. As a result, soybean prices are plummeting as Iowa growers are seeing per-bushel prices at one-third of what they were last fall. Goss says the Creighton survey shows both imports and exports weakened during September, while wholesale prices rose from August and stayed at elevated levels.
