May 5, 2025:
Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union, says tariffs will have serious consequences for American agriculture. “We’re already facing significant economic uncertainty, and this only adds to the strain,” Larew said.
Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of the American Fertilizer Institute, points out that 85 percent of America’s potash comes from Canada. “It’s an irreplaceable component of modern agricultural production,” Rosenbusch said.
National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman, Jr., says farmers are already facing a troubling economic landscape due to rising input costs and declining corn prices. “We ask the President to quickly negotiate agreements with Mexico, Canada, and China that will benefit America’s farmers and address issues important to the U.S.,” Hartman added.
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says tariffs and retaliatory responses will take a toll on rural America.
May 4, 2025:
American Soybean Association
Farmer members of the American Soybean Association have for years consistently maintained their position that they do not support the use of tariffs, which threaten important markets and raise input costs for farmers, as a negotiation tactic. The interconnected nature of agricultural supply chains means tariffs have immediate negative, and in many cases lasting, impacts on their farms and the country’s rural economy.
President Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect just after midnight in the early morning hours of March 4, 2025. Canada responded swiftly with plans to impose 25% tariffs on nearly $100 billion of U.S. imports over two tranches, and Mexico’s president said it would also soon retaliate. The U.S. added an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports overnight, compounding the 10% export tax imposed on China a month ago and existing duties on the country’s goods. China’s comeback was quick: 10% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans and additional actions that limit market access.
“Farmers are frustrated. Tariffs are not something to take lightly and ‘have fun’ with. Not only do they hit our family businesses squarely in the wallet, but they rock a core tenet on which our trading relationships are built, and that is reliability. Being able to reliably supply a quality product to them consistently,” said Caleb Ragland, American Soybean Association president and soy farmer from Magnolia, Kentucky.
Ragland explained, “As the #1 export crop for the U.S., soybean producers face huge, disproportionate impacts from trade flow disruptions, particularly to China, which is our largest market. And we know foreign soybean producers in Brazil and other countries are expecting abundant crops this year and are primed to meet any demand stemming from a renewed U.S.-China trade war. Soybean farmers still have not fully recovered market volumes from the damaging impacts of the 2018 trade war, and this will further exacerbate economic hardship on our farmers.”
In the 2023/2024 marketing year, U.S. exporters shipped 46.1 million metric tons (MMT) of soybeans to foreign markets, accounting for nearly $24 billion in sales. During the 2018 trade war with China, U.S. agriculture experienced over $27 billion in losses, with soybeans accounting for 71% of those losses. Soy farmers continue to struggle with long-term reputational impacts, as the markets they worked for years to build—over 40 years for China!—are grounded in being able to supply a reliable, quality crop.
Unlike in 2018, farmers are in a more tentative financial situation in 2025. Commodity prices are down nearly 50% from three years ago. And, they are operating their farms during a time when costs for land and inputs like seed, pesticides and fertilizer are high, meaning much slimmer margins and less savings to draw from when tariffs make circumstances go south.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said she plans to announce retaliatory tariff and non-tariff measures against the U.S. at an upcoming rally in Mexico City’s central square.
Ragland said of Mexico and Canada, “ASA represents nearly half a million farmers in the United States who grow soybeans, and those farmers rely on two-way trade coming in and out of Mexico and Canada. Not only are those two markets vital for the export of whole soybeans, soy meal and soy oil, but we also rely on them for fertilizer and other products needed to successfully produce our crops. For instance, around 87% of the potash we use here in the U.S. is imported from Canada.”
Since the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, was ratified in 1993 and then continuing under USMCA, which was signed into law five years ago in January 2020, Mexico and Canada have developed into major trading partners for soy, our country’s #1 agricultural export. Mexico is the second-largest customer for whole soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil. Canada is U.S. soy’s fourth-largest customer for soybean meal. The U.S. imports the bulk of its potash from Canada, along with other crop inputs, equipment and more.
ASA and soy farmers are urging the administration to reconsider these tariffs and potential upcoming tariffs to which President Trump has alluded and continue negotiations with the three countries that include non-tariff solutions.
U.S. Meat Export Federation
In reaction to the White House’s new tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada and an increase in the tariff rate assessed on certain goods from China that took effect today (March 4, 2025), U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom issued the following statement:
USMEF is obviously disappointed that no agreements have yet been reached that would avoid or postpone tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as the tariff increase on goods from China. We are reviewing the retaliatory measures announced by Canada and China and are watching for details on the response from Mexico. These three markets accounted for $8.4 billion in U.S. red meat exports last year, including nearly $4 billion to Mexico. While the United States is the primary supplier of pork and beef to Mexico, U.S. red meat has already been facing heightened competition in this critical market.
Last year U.S. beef exports equated to more than $415 per fed steer or heifer slaughtered and pork exports equated to more than $66 per head slaughtered. These exports, a large share of which are underutilized cuts and variety meat, help producers maximize the value of every animal produced and allow U.S. consumers to enjoy more of the cuts they prefer.
International Dairy Foods Association
The United States levied new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China last night (March 5, 2025), prompting China and Canada to announce new tariffs on U.S. exports including dairy products. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) released the following statement in response to the tariffs:
“The U.S. dairy industry urges the Trump Administration to quickly resolve the ongoing tariff concerns with Canada, Mexico, and China—America’s top agricultural trading partners. A prolonged tariff war will deliver significant economic damage to American dairy farmers, processors, and the rural communities, and therefore we urge the Administration to resolve these tariffs as soon as possible. While we recognize that China and Canada have yet to fulfill the promises made in the Phase One and U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreements, respectively, prolonged tariffs will further diminish market access. We strongly urge the Administration to both resolve U.S. dairy’s trade barriers with these markets and the newly announced tariffs.”
The U.S. dairy industry, which supports more than 3.2 million jobs in the United States and pumps almost $800 billion into the U.S. economy, has invested more than $8 billion in new processing capacity that will come online in the next few years. The industry exports roughly 18% of the milk it produces, and it relies on increased trade access to open new markets and increase exports. After being a net importer of dairy products a decade ago, the United States now exports $8 billion worth of dairy products to 145 countries. U.S. dairy exports topped $8.2 billion in 2024, the industry’s second-highest level ever. Mexico and Canada—U.S. dairy’s top two global trading partners representing more than 40% of U.S. dairy exports—each imported record values of dairy in 2024 at $2.47 billion and $1.14 billion respectively. China in recent years has imported between $500 million and $800 million worth of U.S. dairy in recent years.
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