You've doubtless heard the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, in which a poor farm boy trades his cow for some magic beans. The beans eventually grow into a tall stalk that Jack climbs to find a giant, a castle and some loot. When the giant chases Jack down the stalk after his treasure is stolen, the hero (?) cuts the beanstalk with an axe and the giant falls to his death.
Classic nursery rhyme, right? Give 'em a happy ending every time, and a violent one. (You don't want to know how Snow White really ends.)
But you probably aren't familiar with Jack and Beanstalk 2, the sequel.
Well, in Part 2, Jack uses his new-found riches to sail over to America to purchase a large plot of land. Still feeling attached to the beans that granted him his fortune, Jack decides to invest his riches and start a soybean farm.
Things go great at first, with harvest after harvest continuing to provide Jack with honest work and steady income. Over time, he cultivates a number of customers in the Middle Kingdom, and buys more land to plant soybeans.
Eventually, things take a turn for the worse, with the new land's ruler getting into an unnecessary trade dispute with the Middle Kingdom and escalating it to absurd levels. Jack soon finds himself unable to sell his beans because of tariffs. He finds his fate tied to the land's ruler as he later learns soybean farmers all over are hurt by this trade war. The newspapers said export sales of soybeans dropped 32 percent compared to the previous year.
Perhaps this is to be Jack's punishment. After all, the kid did break into a giant's castle and steal his possessions. But whether Jack deserves poor bean sales or not, his fellow farmers certainly didn't.
The story ends on a cliffhanger, with Jack's stored beans starting to rot amid plunging prices. We're not certain of his fate.
Perhaps there's a reason this sequel isn't as popular, but the moral of the story remains strong: Trade wars are unnecessary and simply serve to hurt consumers. Hopefully in Part 3 the tariffs are resolved with dialog, and Jack and his fellow farmers get back on their feet. Free trade wins, and they all live happily ever after.
Editorial on 12/13/2018