April 4, 2025
Trade War Will Force Farms to Close, and More Reactions From Ag Industry on Latest Tariffs
President Donald Trump announced a swath of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday in an address at the White House Rose Garden. Calling it a “Liberation Day,” Trump signed an executive order declaring a national economic emergency due to “foreign trade and economic practices” from countries around the world. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, criticized the move, saying in a video interview that “anyone who says there will be a little bit of pain before we get things right, needs to talk about farmers, who are one crop away from bankruptcy.” According to a fact sheet released by the White House in the wake of the executive order, a 10% tariff on imported goods from all countries will go into effect on April 5 at 12:01 a.m. ET. In addition, there will be an “individualized reciprocal higher tariff” on countries with which the Trump administration says the United States has the largest trade deficits. These tariffs have ranges varying by country and go into effect April 9 at 12:01 ET.
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How Trump’s Team Used Trade Deficits to Calculate Tariff Rates
President Trump’s administration calculated its raft of new tariffs primarily based on existing trade balances — a departure from pledges to match the tariff rates and other trade barriers from other countries. In a statement published Wednesday night to explain its methodology for tariffs that rocked the globe, the United States Trade Representative detailed a formula that divides a country’s trade surplus with the U.S. by its total exports, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2024. That number was then divided by two, producing the “discounted” rate. China, for instance, had a trade surplus of $295 billion with the U.S. last year on total exports of $438 billion — a ratio of 68%. Divided by two according to Trump’s formula, that yielded a tariff rate of 34%. The same calculations roughly produced the rates for other economies like Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Countries where the U.S. runs a trade surplus were also hit, facing a flat 10% rate regardless, as did nations where trade was roughly even.
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Corn, Soybeans, Wheat Plunge Following Tariff Announcement
Corn, soybean, and wheat futures all plunged in overnight trading after President Trump said the U.S. would impose tariffs on several trading partners. The president said at an event at the White House Rose Garden that the U.S. would put a 54% tariff on goods imported from China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans, which will take effect on April 9. Tariffs were imposed on many countries including a 24% levy on goods from Japan, 36% on items from Thailand, and 20% on products from the UK. Canadian and Mexican goods will still face 25% tariffs. China said it “firmly opposes” the sweeping duties and will take “resolute countermeasures” to counteract the sweeping duties. The European Union, which faces 20% levies on its products, is preparing additional tariffs of its own on U.S. products and Canada said it will unveil countermeasures today. Corn futures dropped 8¢ to $4.49¾ a bushel.
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U.S. Honeybee Deaths Soar, Grocery Store Bills Could Take the Hit
Beekeepers across the country are sounding the alarm as honeybee populations are dwindling at an unprecedented rate, a trend that could affect Americans’ wallets at the grocery store. Honeybees are the backbone of the food ecosystem, pollinating 75% of the world’s natural supplies, but a recent nationwide survey by Project Apis found catastrophic honeybee declines across the industry. Commercial operators reported an average loss of 62% from June to February nationwide. These alarming losses could significantly impact U.S. agriculture, particularly crop pollination for almonds, fruits, vegetables, and other essential food sources. There are many contributing factors that can cause a colony to die, including pathogens; varroa mites, a parasite that feeds on bees; and a lack of nutrition. Bees are responsible for $17 billion in agricultural production in the United States every year. A loss of pollinators would result in food prices going up. Bees, the only insects that produce food for human consumption, have become a hot commodity as their numbers dwindle.
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Sec. Rollins Calls on Congress to Pass a Farm Bill
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says farmers and ranchers need a new five-year farm bill in 2025. It has failed now to get through Congress the last two times under the Biden administration, and it is a very, very big priority of mine, Rollins said Monday. But she says getting it across the finish line will be a complicated process. The farm part of the farm bill is only about 15-to-18%, and 60 votes are required to get it through the Senate. That means that it will need, depending on the Republicans, between 10-to-13 Democrat votes. There’s a lot of conversations that have to go on and a lot of negotiations that have already happened. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says the cost for a new farm bill keeps going up as negotiations continue. Our farm bill had grown in cost from over $800 billion in the last farm bill to $1.5 trillion. The current farm bill extension expires in September.
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Lawmakers Discuss Bill to Bring Whole Milk Back to Schools
More than a dozen years after higher-fat milk was stripped from school meals to slow obesity in American kids and boost their health, momentum is growing to put it back. Federal lawmakers have revived bills that would allow whole and 2% milk to be served again in schools, in addition to the skim and low-fat milk mandated since 2012. A U.S. Senate committee hosted a hearing Tuesday on a bill that has bipartisan support. “Kids need wholesome, nourishing food to grow strong and stay healthy, and whole milk is packed with the nutrients they need,” said Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is co-sponsoring the legislation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the federal dietary guidelines requiring low-fat milk “antiquated” and last month encouraged “full fat/whole milk” to be used in Head Start programs for the nation’s youngest children.
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