(The Center Square) – U.S. farmers are asking President Donald Trump to resolve issues that led to an escalating trade war, warning that struggling farmers could see higher costs as a result of U.S. policies.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the measures will hurt rural Americans.
“Farmers support the goals of ensuring security and fair trade with other nations, but additional tariffs, along with expected retaliatory tariffs, will take a toll on rural America,” he said Tuesday. “Farmers and ranchers are concerned with the decision to impose increased tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China – our top trading partners. Last year, the U.S. exported more than $83 billion in agricultural products to the three countries.”
Duvall pointed to potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer, as an example.
“Approximately 85% of our total potash supply … is imported from Canada,” he said. “For the third straight year, farmers are losing money on almost every major crop planted. Adding even more costs and reducing markets for American agricultural goods could create an economic burden some farmers may not be able to bear.”
Farmers want a quick end to what they see as harmful trade measures.
“We ask the president to continue working with our international partners to find ways to resolve disagreements quickly, so farmers can focus on feeding families in America and abroad,” he said.
Duvall’s warning came after a similar message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in the nation. The U.S. Chamber warned that Trump’s trade policies could push up prices for American consumers who are already struggling.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, governs trade between the U.S. and its northern and southern neighbors. It went into force on July 1, 2020, and Trump signed the deal. That agreement continued to allow for duty-free trading between the three countries.
U.S. goods and services trade with USMCA totaled an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2022. Exports were $789.7 billion and imports were $974.3 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with USMCA was $184.6 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Trump hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs on imported goods on Tuesday after initially delaying the measures for 30 days while negotiating with foreign officials. Both countries pledged to tighten up border security after Trump said the tariffs would remain in place until the flow of people and illegal drugs stopped at the U.S. borders.
The U.S. also put an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, adding to a duty imposed a month ago. China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods, and other measures against U.S. companies. China also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.
Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan called for free trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada and asked Trump to find other ways to address problems at the border.
“Illinois Farm Bureau urges President Trump to honor the USMCA, which was successfully negotiated during his last term, and to find other methods to combat illegal drugs and secure our border. We remain deeply concerned with the use of tariffs and their potential to spark retaliation on America’s farmers,” he said. “Illinois farmers’ products – from grains and feed, corn, soybeans, ethanol, beef, pork, and more – rely on access to foreign markets and will undoubtedly be impacted by these new tariffs either through increased prices or decreased market access. This uncertainty coupled with an already struggling farm economy has farmers worried as we head into planting season.”
Illinois is the third largest exporter of agricultural commodities in the U.S. Total exports from Illinois in 2023 were estimated at $81 billion, of which $13.7 billion was attributed to agriculture.
Drug trafficking and migration have remained challenging problems that all three countries have worked to address with little success in the past. At the same time, Trump has said tariffs will make the U.S. “rich as hell” and shift the tax burden from Americans to foreign countries.
Tariffs are taxes on imported goods paid by importers and often passed on to consumers when possible.
