(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Within the last 24-48 hours, multiple agriculture groups have shared their reaction to the tariff implementation by President Donald Trump on Canada, Mexico and China.
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. 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.
Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The 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. Speaking on Tuesday’s Market Talk program, Rosenbusch added that there may be some psychological effects as farmers start to but their potash, especially for summer fill and fall, if tariffs are still an issue.
“I think there will be a psychological effect where as they go out and start to buy their potash, those that, you know, potash isn’t always something you lock in a price, you know, well in advance, like you might your nitrogen, for example,” said Rosenbusch. “And so there might be this psychological impact that farmers have of, well, there’s the tariffs on potash right now. So I’m just going to cut back a little bit. Regardless of where we are in the market at that point, it may not be a huge impact, a huge bump. And then I think, you know, the third piece or example that I’ve just kind of heard is what’s the prolonged demand look like? Particularly, will there be demand destruction? Will farmers just say we’ll cut back on our potash a bit. So obviously, all of this has an impact. And at the end of the day, though, the farmer is going to have an increased cost of their fertilizer input.”
Meantime, 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.
“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.
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom issued the following statement saying that “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.”
Halstrom added that, “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.”
Leaders from the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) released statements in response to retaliatory measures announced by Mexico, Canada and China. “Exports are fundamental to the health of the U.S. dairy industry. One day’s worth of milk production out of every six is destined for international consumers and U.S. dairy sales to Mexico, Canada and China account for 51% of our total global exports. That’s a lot at stake,” said Krysta Harden, President and CEO of U.S. Dairy Export Council.
“The President believes tariffs are necessary to address the opioid crisis in the United States. We urge Mexico and Canada to take U.S. concerns seriously,” said Gregg Doud, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. “Mexico and Canada are valuable trading partners that American agriculture depends on, and trade with those countries is critical to the well-being of dairy farmers. Let’s focus on getting the concerns ironed out quickly so we can focus on bolstering these critical trade relationships. Then, let’s put those tariff tools to work, driving change with the trading partner that’s brushed off U.S. concerns for far too long – the European Union.”
As of press time, President Trump was set to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday and Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Thursday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as indicated in numerous interviews over the last 24 hours that the 25% tariff rate on Canada and Mexico could potentially get reduced and that some sort of deal could be reached in short order.
