As Trump Stands Firm on Tariffs, USDA Signals Possible Relief for Farmers

In announcing his tariff plan on March 2, President Donald J. Trump had few words for farmers: “Have fun!” he wrote on the social media platform he owns, Truth Social. On April 2, Trump’s tariff plan was finalized; a blanket 10 percent on any imported goods into the United States starting on April 5 and reciprocal tariffs as high as 34 percent on major importing countries like China to begin on April 9. Though the president’s own statements suggest no desire to backtrack — likening criticism to panic and weakness and tariffs to “medicine” that “you have to take” — Trump’s USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins struck a different tone in assuring farmers of plans for relief.

In anticipation of the tariffs, farm groups representing different types of farmers and farms sent United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins a letter urging her to eliminate and reduce “foreign tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.” In a press release, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said that tariffs will drive up the cost of supplies for farmers and make American products more expensive throughout the world.

“The combination not only threatens farmers’ competitiveness in the short-term, but it may cause long-term damage by leading to losses in market share,” he wrote.

According to Rollins, farmers may receive a bailout. On March 31, Rollins visited Iowa and said that the federal government may step in to assist farmers due to negative impacts they could face from tariffs.

During Trump’s last presidency, USDA economists estimate that retaliatory tariffs “caused a reduction of more than $27 billion (or annualized losses of $13.2 billion) in U.S. agricultural exports,” with the largest amount of annualized losses in Iowa. In 2018, the U.S. government provided afflicted farmers with aid; even Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, who owns and operates a farm, received federal bailout money. But many farmers told the New York Times that the aid was difficult to access.

“President Trump is using tariffs as leverage — to force our trading partners to the table and put America’s farmers first. 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,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a statement regarding the tariffs.

In the Truth Social post last month, Trump told farmers to get ready to sell more goods “INSIDE” the U.S. However, the vast majority of the American agricultural market is far from local. Over half of all soybeans grown in the U.S. are exported, mostly to China, which is also the world’s largest importer of soybeans. The vast majority of those soybeans go to feed animals raised for consumption as more and more people in China integrate meat into their diet. China is transitioning to a meat production model similar to the United States, where animals live in concentrated animal feeding operations, which are confined spaces where hundreds or even thousands of animals are raised for slaughter. China now produces more poultry than the United States. On April 4, China announced a 34 percent retaliatory tariff against the United States.

In 2018, the money to support farmers came from USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, which is financed through appropriates (funded by taxes) and borrowing from the U.S. Treasury.

Thus far, no new relief package has been announced for farmers. If Trump’s last round of farm aid in 2018 is any signal, it could be months before aid is officially offered — and even then, it could take time for farmers to receive that aid, which could jeopardize the survival of small farms that are already struggling. In the past few months, farmers have been dealing with a swath of regulatory changes and funding cuts including toward conservation programs and diversity, equity and inclusion related grants.

In 2019, there were over 2 million farms in the United States. By 2023, that number had diminished by over 100,000 as the average acreage increased by 20 acres.

“One thing is certain: American family farmers and ranchers will bear the brunt of this global trade war,” National Farmers Union president Rob Larew wrote in a press release.