“我是一個種大豆的農民，也是特朗普的支持者。現在，我懇請總統儘快結束這場貿易戰。”一名連續三次投票支援特朗普的農民說。
近日，美國肯塔基州的大豆農民、美國大豆協會主席凱萊布·拉格蘭德（Caleb Ragland）發表公開信，呼籲總統特朗普儘快與中國達成貿易協議。他在信中寫道：“總統先生，我真誠希望您能聽見我們的呼聲：請儘快與中國達成協議。”
"I'm a soybean farmer who voted for Trump. I'm begging the president to end the trade war."Caleb Ragland, 38, from Magnolia, Kentucky, who comes from a long line of farmers stretching back 200 years, is one of them — having voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Still, as the president of the American Soybean Association — representing 500,000 soybean farmers across the country — he is deeply concerned about how tariffs will impact him and his colleagues.He asks president Trump to secure a deal with China, and save the future of farming in America.
“我們正在借錢種地”
拉格蘭德家族已經耕種九代，如今經營著一片1500英畝的大豆農場。他在信中指出，當前美國對中國加徵的關稅，可能會在2027年之前讓他的農場走向破產。“我們幾代人流血流汗打拼出來的一切，可能就因為一句政策決定而灰飛煙滅。”
"The tariffs on China could put us out of business by 2027. All our blood, sweat, and toil could vanish with the stroke of a pen."
凱萊布·拉格蘭德在肯塔基州的農場裡 來源：美國大豆協會
他提到，大豆價格已從三年前的每蒲式耳17美元大幅下跌至目前的10美元。每英畝的種植成本高達600美元，收入卻只有500美元。今年他的農場預計將虧損15萬美元，只能依靠貸款來維持運營。“很多農民現在都是借錢種地，相當於倒貼著錢去幹活。”他補充道，一些農民已經因為資金鍊斷裂，不得不拍賣農場或宣佈破產。
I am one of the 500,000 soybean farmers in America who feels the pain. We have 1,500 acres of soybeans on my farm. At $600 an acre, our production costs are $900,000. But in the current climate, an acre brings in only $500 of revenue, which means we're yielding $750,000 — a $150,000 loss. This year we're hoping to hang on with a loan to cover the difference.But not every farmer is so lucky. I've watched my fellow farmers, who were already having difficulties, forced to have auctions and sell their farms. Some have had to declare bankruptcy and take whatever work they can get as farmhands. Most farmers can't afford any more losses. In the most basic sense, we're being asked to pay to go to work.
作為美國大豆的最大出口市場，中國在2024年購買了美國52%的出口大豆。但與2018年貿易戰前相比，這一市場份額已永久性下滑了10%。拉格蘭德擔憂，如果僵局持續，中國可能會轉向巴西採購大豆。巴西正在推進開墾7000萬英畝新農地的計劃，這些土地大多來源於砍伐雨林和改造退化牧場。這一趨勢可能進一步壓縮美國在全球大豆市場的空間。
拉格蘭德坦言，2018年發起的那場貿易戰曾給美國農業帶來260億美元的損失，其中大豆相關的損失就接近200億美元。儘管當時貿易戰最後簽了一個協議，但拜登政府未有效執行協議內容。
“現在比以往任何時候都更需要一個新的協議。我們的農業經濟遠位元朗普第一任期時更脆弱，”他說，“加上通脹和生產成本的上升，許多農民的現金流已經非常緊張，幾乎沒有任何緩衝空間。”
"The farm economy is much weaker now than it was in his first term.""Rising inflation and the costs of production haven't helped. We farmers have less working capital and less of a cushion to fall back on these days."
農民的生計不該成為賭注
拉格蘭德強調，美國農業與全美約3400萬個就業崗位息息相關。從賣種子和化肥的商人，到幫農民做賬的農業顧問，每一個環節都是這個龐大產業鏈的一部分。整個行業為美國經濟貢獻達1.5萬億美元，是中部地區的經濟命脈。
The agriculture and food industries support over 34 million American jobs — from seed and fertilizer retailers to agronomists who help farmers make the best financial decisions — and contribute $1.5 trillion to the economy. But it's also the lifeblood of the American heartland.
“有人說我們應該把所有大豆都賣到美國國內，但這並不是一件說做就能做到的事。”拉格蘭德還提醒，要做到這一點，得把目前美國市場的需求翻一倍。這就意味著，美國人要吃的豬肉、雞肉和牛肉得翻倍，連生物燃料的產量也得翻倍才行。這在短期內並不現實。
Some say we should aim to sell all our soybeans domestically. But to do that, we would need to double the markets that we currently have in the US. That's just not going to happen at the snap of a finger. It would mean doubling the US consumption of pork, poultry, and beef as well as biofuel production.
信的最後，拉格蘭德代表全美50萬名大豆種植者發出呼籲：“與中國的貿易戰，實際上是在拿我們農民的生計作賭注。我們這些紮根土地的人，世世代代都在幹這一行，不會也不想做別的。”
"The current trade war with China is a gamble with American livelihoods, especially for farmers — those of us who grew up with soil and sweat — who can't imagine doing anything else."
目前，特朗普政府已宣佈暫停對願意談判國家的報復性關稅。儘管仍對中國維持高額關稅，拉格蘭德將此視為釋放善意的跡象。他懇切希望，中美雙方能早日達成協議，挽救瀕臨困境的美國農業。
編輯：左卓
見習編輯：裴禧盈
來源：自由報
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