Tariffs
Tariffs, also known as taxes on imported goods, are a tool used by President Donald Trump as part of his overall economic vision. As U.S. agriculture navigates tariffs and their implications on trade, commodity prices, input costs and more, ag economists and farmers remain divided on the effectiveness of tariffs and what the changes mean for the broader economy and livelihoods.
In a Wednesday morning press conference, ahead of Trump announcing his global tariff plan, Sheinbaum says Mexico will “announce a comprehensive program, not a tit for tat on tariffs,” but added, “we have a plan to strengthen the economy under any circumstance.”
The parent company of Case IH, New Holland, Steyr and other machinery brands says there will be no impacts to production and parts shipments will continue as planned.
The downturn in the ag economy has everyone from farmers and ag lenders to even ag economists concerned. Waning optimism is an overriding theme for the row crop side of agriculture, yet some farmers hope President Donald Trump’s tough stance on trade can get the ag economy back on track longer-term.
Kent Beadle, Paradigm Futures expects high volatility at the end of the month and recommends farmers get some sort of risk management strategy in place to at least put a flood under grain prices.
Continued good demand into 2025/26 is likely as any positive tariff results wouldn’t end in one year — potentially sustaining the corn bull market.
Canadian farmers are on edge as the latest trade war could impact the crops they grow as well as the inputs they need to plant a crop this spring.
With tariffs and trade in focus again, a recent AgWeb poll asked farmers if they support President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating strategy.
The majority of respondents in the March Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor agree the U.S. is currently in a trade war, but who wins? Ag economists say it’s not the U.S., Canada or Mexico but rather Brazil that could come out on top.
Tariff whiplash is consuming the commodity markets — and the possible impact is stirring up quite the debate. At present, President Trump says he’s sticking to his plan to impose additional tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China starting April 2.
While many farmers are comparing the current threats of tariffs and trade wars to the situation they endured in 2018, Joe Vaclavik believes this time will be better.