US, South African farmers cry fowl over Trump metal tariffs

Which came first, the chicken or the trade war? Well before President Donald Trump began slapping tariffs on steel, aluminum and other imported goods, there was a deal with South Africa that gave U.S. chicken producers duty-free access to a market that had effectively been shut to them for years.But that trade deal, worth tens of millions of dollars to American businesses, now is being threatened by Trump’s metal tariffs.A group of senators from chicken-producing states — Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware and Republicans Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Roger Wicker of Mississippi — have detailed their concerns in a recent letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. They cite a lawsuit in South Africa that aims to end duty-free imports of American chicken unless South Africa is exempted from Trump’s metal tariffs.The dispute illustrates the risk Trump runs by employing tariffs so aggressively. The president has wielded the import taxes — real and threatened — as part of a campaign to force countries like Mexico and Canada into trade pacts with terms he considers more favorable to the United States. But along with Trump’s confrontational approach is the potential fallout for American companies and consumers, as countries take retaliatory action.And it’s also a reminder of how much clout the poultry industry has in certain states. In Delaware, where industry titans Mountaire Farms and Perdue Farms operate processing plants, chicken accounts for 70 percent of the state’s