John Pihl has been farming in Northern Illinois for over 50 years, but recent tariffs are making life more expensive for him and his fellow farmers.
“These tariffs are going to affect everything. It’ll affect our parts — it’s just across the board. Which is going to hurt everything,” he said.
The impact of tariffs extends beyond just the cost of farm supplies.
They raise the risk of retaliation against U.S. crop exports, creating a double challenge for farmers like Pihl.
“It’s a good way to lose your customers,” he noted. “And I think we’ll probably lose more on this round too because I know that Mexico is our biggest importer of corn. But this time, they may figure out that they can get corn from South America just as easily as from the U.S.”
President Trump has implemented tariffs affecting a wide range of countries, including a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, 25% on certain Canadian and Mexican goods, and an extraordinary 145% on Chinese goods.
China has notably retaliated, enforcing a 125% tariff on U.S. products.
In response to the struggles of farmers, the White House is exploring potential measures to alleviate their burden.
Secretary Brooke Rollins mentioned on Fox News, “We’re already starting to think about what a mitigation effort might look like.”
Rollins referred to aid that the Trump administration provided during its first-term trade dispute with China, using funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).
Joseph Glauber, a former USDA chief economist, explained that the CCC had been a longstanding program, but the level at which the Trump administration tapped it for extraordinary payments was unprecedented.
During his first term, Trump allocated $28 billion to assist farmers affected by tariffs.
However, the current situation presents steeper tariffs than those experienced six years ago, leaving uncertainty about their duration.
NPR reached out to the White House for more details regarding potential relief but did not receive a response.
Pihl found the previous payments helpful but emphasized that they do not remedy the broader market damage caused by tariffs in Trump’s first term.
“That was just for the one year. What about the market loss that continued through his term and into Biden’s term? I think the amount is incredible,” he stated.
The fallout from these tariffs is especially evident in the soybean market.
China has traditionally been the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans; however, during the trade conflict in Trump’s first term, China significantly increased its imports of Brazilian soybeans, effectively replacing American soybeans.
As a result, the U.S. market share has not recovered since.
Trump exuded confidence this week about his ability to negotiate a resolution with China regarding the escalating trade tensions.
Amidst all this, some members of the farming community remain cautiously optimistic about Trump’s capacity to forge beneficial deals for farmers.
“You know, he’s a negotiator,” remarked Kenneth Hartman, Jr., president of the corn board at the National Corn Growers Association.
“He did a good job negotiating the [U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement] USMCA during his first term. So we’re hoping that he can do something like that,” Hartman said.
The dynamics surrounding tariffs and potential aid create additional complications, particularly regarding timing.
This tariff drama coincides with the spring season when farmers determine what export crops, like corn and soybeans, to plant.
American soybean farmers might pivot and plant corn instead to minimize exposure to market risks in China, which could, in turn, impact corn markets.
Additionally, early announcements about aid packages run the risk of distorting market signals, according to Glauber, the former USDA economist.
“If you’re too generous with one crop vis-à-vis another, you could have farmers making planting decisions based on what they think those compensation payments might be,” Glauber explained.
While farmers appreciate government aid, they primarily seek stable markets.
“Farmers want markets. We need markets. We want to sell our grain at a profit,” Hartman emphasized, adding that CCC payments are merely a temporary solution.
“It’s supplemental, it’s needed because it keeps farmers from getting in worse financial situations, but payments are not the answer to a future successful agriculture operation in the United States,” he concluded.
Similarly, Pihl expressed mixed feelings about the subsidies.
“I don’t want it, but I’ll take it. I’d be an idiot not to take it. That’s about all I can say.”
image source from：https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/g-s1-59682/trump-tariffs-farmers-china
