Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) released the following statement on President Trump’s decision to risk a world trade war by levying new import taxes on a broad swath of goods.
“By declaring a worldwide trade war, the Administration is hurting American farmers, workers and consumers. Increasing input costs, shutting farmers out of export markets and causing middle-class families to pay more at the grocery store is not a winning strategy. Starting trade wars puts family farmers in the crosshairs for retaliation. In 2018, the Trump administration’s trade wars cost our farmers $30 billion in lost exports. The tariffs announced today are broader than in 2018 and come as farmers struggle with widespread uncertainty. The losses from this trade war will force farms to close.”
Background:
- Even before today’s tariff announcement, the American Farm Bureau Federation expected new retaliatory tariffs from Canada, Mexico and China to impact nearly $30 billion in agricultural exports.
- U.S. agricultural exports supported more than 1 million full-time jobs in 2022.
- Over 20 percent of U.S.-grown corn is exported annually and is responsible for 33 percent of U.S. corn farmers’ income.
- The last trade war was a gift to U.S. agricultural trade competitors. Once lost, agricultural export market share can be difficult to regain.
- According to one estimate, retaliatory tariffs could cause significant reductions in U.S. agricultural exports to some of our largest trade partners.
- Agricultural stakeholders have expressed widespread concern about tariffs.
