(NAFB.com) – Most respondents in Farm Journal’s March Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor agree the U.S. is already in a trade war. U.S. agriculture hit a record trade deficit last year as imports soared, and President Donald Trump wants to reverse the trend. Over 90 percent of the economists surveyed think the president’s strategy of using tariffs as a negotiating tool will not be a benefit to American agriculture in the long run. One economist in the survey said food as a weapon doesn’t have a successful track record, as seen with Jimmy Carter in the 1980s. Another economist wasn’t quite as certain, saying that for it to be beneficial, tariffs depend on being short-lived and resulting in trade initiatives with market access or purchase commitments. According to the administration, when it comes to tariffs and their impact on the overall economy, the long-term gain will be worth the short-term pain.