The relational costs of tariffs in agriculture
By Matt Reese
Millions of farmer dollars, thousands of farmer trade missions and countless farmer hours have gone into building relationships with international buyers of U.S. agricultural goods. Similar relationships exist between farmers and input suppliers. Those relationships do not develop overnight, but they can be quickly broken and difficult to repair.
With this in mind, many in agriculture are a bit leery as the nation kicks off its second Trump Administration with new tariffs on Canada and Mexico announced over the weekend. With agriculture accounting for significant U.S. exports, more often than not, tariffs leave U.S. farmers and agribusiness — and the relationships they’ve built — caught in the middle of international politics.
In his first term, President Donald Trump used tariffs as an instrument to try to gain leverage over trading partners and address other issues beyond international trade. Trump’s first trade war tariffs (most of which were maintained and added to by the Biden Administration) led to an agreement with China that ultimately addressed some international concerns.… Continue reading