(The Center Square) – As planting season nears in Illinois, trade tariffs are causing uncertainty among farmers.
President Donald Trump enacted a package of trade tariffs in the early days of his administration, including on major trade partners Mexico, Canada and China. He then paused many of the tariffs and exempted some products.
Trump said the U.S. has been getting a bad deal in global trade and promised that tariffs would boost the U.S. economy.
Illinois officials are reassuring farmers that efforts are being made to sell their commodities.
During Agricultural Legislative Day at the State Capitol, Gov. J.B. Pritzker met with stakeholders to discuss the issues facing the farming industry.
“We have been working with our counterparts in Mexico as well as our partners in Canada and around the world to keep our ties from this state strong, and to ensure our farmers aren’t once again left as collateral damage in a self-inflicted trade war,” said Pritzker.
The governor this month led a delegation to Mexico, a major buyer of Illinois corn. Overall, about a third of the corn grown in Illinois is exported. By contrast, Iowa, the top corn producer in the country, exports less than half of that.
Illinois soybean farmers sell much of their harvest to China. Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said the Trump administration’s tariffs could be harmful to the state’s farming industry in general, but especially to soybean farmers.
“Illinois farmers have seen how this played out before,” said Frerichs. “During Trump’s first term, his tariffs drove China to start buying soybeans from Brazil.”
Agricultural products like soybeans, corn and pork made up the majority of Illinois’ exports to China last year, comprising nearly $1.5 billion.
According to the USDA Global Agricultural Trade System, in 2024 Illinois accounted for over $12.4 billion of agricultural product exports, including $3.6 billion worth of products to Mexico ($2.5 billion) and Canada ($2.1 billion).
“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,” said Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan. “This uncertainty coupled with an already struggling farm economy has farmers worried as we head into planting season.”
