Commodity and producer groups are calling on the Trump administration to negotiate with trade partners and support new markets amid escalating tariffs and retaliation.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced a universal tariff of 10% on almost all imported products and additional, individualized tariff rates on the European Union and nearly 60 countries. This included 34% tariffs on goods from China, on top of 20% tariffs the U.S. rolled out across February and March.
China said its matching tariff rate on U.S. products will go into effect Thursday. China is the third-largest importer of U.S. agricultural products.
Iowa — a top producer of corn, soybeans and pork — relies heavily on trade. Export markets consume roughly half of U.S. soybeans, more than a quarter of pork products and around 15% of the country’s corn.
Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement when Trump announced the tariff plan, blaming the Biden administration for allowing a deficit to develop in agricultural trade.
“President Trump is using tariffs as leverage – to force our trading partners to the table and put America’s farmers first," Reynolds said. "My job is to protect Iowans, and I’m working directly with the administration to ease the short-term impact, keep our ag economy strong and open the door to new export opportunities.”
What are farmers' responses to the tariffs?
But many ag organizations, including the American Farm Bureau, say tariffs threaten the economic viability of its members.
“We encourage the administration to work toward a swift resolution to trade disagreements to avoid tariffs that put farmers and ranchers in the crosshairs of retaliation,” said AFB President Zippy Duvall in a news release.
The American Soybean Association, National Pork Producers Council and Iowa Corn Growers Association issued similar calls for trade negotiations and support for new markets.
“We see tariffs impact us as farmers … but it also relates heavily to rural Iowa and the communities we live in,” said Stu Swanson, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and a farmer in Wright County.
Swanson said the trade conflict comes on top of low commodity prices and high input costs. Net farm income has fallen since 2023 after a record high in 2022. The farm economy downturn has contributed to layoffs at John Deere, Bridgestone-Firestone, Cargill and Corteva over the last year.
Commodity groups and farmer organizations are also concerned that China will turn more to Brazil and Argentina for its supply of corn and soybeans in an ongoing trade war. Swanson said it’s difficult for American farmers to regain their market share once it’s lost.
He added that widespread tariffs could dampen emerging markets. These include selling ethanol to Vietnam and dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGS) to India as high-protein feed for poultry and dairy cattle. DDGS is a byproduct from ethanol production.
Will the USDA offer payouts to farmers for lost profits?
The Trump administration has signaled that it may release an aid package for farmers. During the president’s first term, retaliatory tariffs from China and other countries resulted in an estimated loss of more than $27 billion in U.S. agricultural exports from mid-2018 to the end of 2019. The U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed $23 billion to farmers to offset losses.
“We, as farmers, certainly don’t like to receive income and stability from the government, in terms of payments,” Swanson said. “We’d rather see our income come from the marketplace, whether that’s increasing sales to existing countries or opening new markets overseas.”
The Iowa Corn Growers Association is also encouraging Trump to support more domestic uses of corn by allowing E15 to be sold nationwide, year-round.
“It certainly wouldn’t offset the losses we would have in a trade war. But we certainly want to do what we can to receive our income from the marketplace,” Swanson said.
Ramping up the production of bio-based chemicals, fibers and fabrics from corn is another opportunity, he said.
“We’re asking the government to look at all of those options to help with the offsets,” Swanson said.
