At midnight on May 27, farmers in Argentina began the third strike in less than three months. The strikes are designed to force the Argentine government to negotiate over export taxes on grains that were imposed in March. So far, the government has refused to negotiate with the farmers, and such a hard-line stance could paralyze the industry and cause extreme food shortages in the spring (October-December). In March, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government raised taxes on food exports, including corn, beef and wheat, from a fixed rate of 35 percent to about 40 percent. Soy export taxes were raised to 45 percent. The decision to raise export taxes followed a series of policies designed to keep domestic prices down in Argentina — including a six-month export ban on beef in 2006 and a continuing and complex system of price capping.