FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2024
CONTACT: press@opportunitywisconsin.org
ICYMI: Trump administration tariffs could cost farmers billions in exports
Proposed tariffs would raise costs and could restrict trade for industries vital to Wisconsin’s economy
MADISON, Wis. – In case you missed it, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently detailed how new tariffs proposed by President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress could reignite a global trade war and cost farmers billions in export sales.
According to the report, expected retaliatory tariffs from major U.S. trading partners would shrink markets for agricultural products, including beef, pork, corn, and other commodities. During the first Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates American farmers lost $27 billion in export sales as a result of tariffs and the ensuing trade war.
In addition to hurting Wisconsin farmers, tariffs would force Wisconsin families to pay more for necessities, including common grocery items like coffee, cereals, and vegetables imported from other countries. Household items including clothes and shoes, appliances, and toys could also see higher costs as a result of proposed tariffs.
“If President-elect Trump and Republicans in Congress want to hurt Wisconsin farmers and force families to pay more at the grocery store, then increasing tariffs is a great idea. But if they want to lower costs and grow Wisconsin’s economy, they need another plan,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Working families, seniors, and small businesses in Wisconsin need relief from higher costs. That’s why it’s critical that Congress holds big corporations accountable, passes tax reform that prioritizes the middle class, and lowers costs. It’s time for our leaders to bring people together to build an economy where everyone can succeed.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In another Trump trade war, farmers could lose billions in export sales
If President-elect Donald Trump ignites a trade war with China, Mexico and Canada, many Wisconsin farmers may find themselves caught in the crossfire.
U.S. agriculture hasn’t fully recovered from a trade fight that Trump started in his first administration when he imposed higher tariffs, essentially a tax, on $370 billion in products from China.
The Chinese government retaliated with countervailing tariffs of up to 25% on over $100 billion worth of U.S. products, targeting soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum. It then turned to Brazil and other countries, rather than the United States, for those commodities.
American farmers lost $27 billion in export sales in 2018 and 2019, largely from the China tariffs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Even now, the share of China's soybean imports from the U.S. - the top American export to China - has dropped to 18% from 40% in 2016, Reuters reported in November.
With Trump threatening more trade sanctions, farmers could again suffer market losses.
“When farms go out, other businesses close, schools close and churches close, because farmers are the backbone of everything,” said Hinchley, a Democrat.
Over the past 12 months alone, Wisconsin has lost more than 350 dairy herds and is now at fewer than 5,400 herds, the lowest point on record. Since 2019, more than 2,000 dairy farmers have called it quits, according to the state Agriculture Department.
“We can’t continue this way and still be America’s Dairyland,” Hinchley said.
A generous share of Wisconsin milk production ends up in dairy products outside of the United States, with much of it going to Mexico.
Proposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China — three main export destinations for U.S. dairy — are likely to reduce dairy exports to a degree that would harm farm milk prices and processor profitability, according to Charles Nicholson, an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin farmers have come to rely on exports for selling beef, pork, soybeans, cranberries, cherries, ginseng and dairy products. In another trade war, farmers may once again find themselves at the mercy of federal government programs that act as a safety net when commodities prices fall.
###
