Head of NC Pork Council: Trump's Trade War Will Hurt Farmers

Twitterman announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from our closest neighbors and allies -- Mexico, Canada, and the European Union -- and they promptly threatened back, saying they'll impose tariffs of their own on North Carolina pork and tobacco. Andy Curliss, CEO of the North Carolina Pork Council, pointed out -- if anyone's listening -- that 25% of NC pork gets exported, and Mexico and Canada account for half of those exports.

Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau, chimed in: "Those countries are important customers for us. If [threatened foreign tariffs] come to pass and if it really happens, it could be devastating for the North Carolina pork industry."

Same for tobacco: "The European Union produced a 10-page list of products it would retaliate against, if the U.S. imposes the tariffs. Among the products: tobacco in all forms — cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, water-pipe tobacco and smoking tobacco. The state grows about 50 percent of the nation's tobacco and exports about 75 percent of what it grows, Wooten said."