With President Donald Trump expected to put tariffs in place against Canada, Mexico and China starting Feb. 1, the American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to Trump expressing concern that new tariffs levied against Canada, Mexico and China may inadvertently create financial hardships on U.S. farmers and ranchers. Historically, retaliatory actions often target U.S. agriculture but then ripple throughout the U.S. economy. 

“Last year, the U.S. exported over $30 billion in agricultural products to Mexico, $29 billion to Canada and $26 billion to China – our top three markets by value combined for half of total agricultural exports,” the on Jan. 31 letter states. “Any effort to impose additional tariffs on these nations’ imports runs the risk of significant retaliatory measures against U.S. agricultural exports. We ask that you carefully consider the impact on American farmers and ranchers, associated businesses and rural communities when determining potential trade actions. For decades, American agriculture has strongly supported efforts to open the world to our agricultural and other trade products.”

The letter also provides broader context about the importance of international markets to U.S. farmers and ranchers, pointing out how 95% of the world’s population lives outside U.S. borders, and more than 20% of U.S. farm income is based on exports.

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“Expanding opportunities for U.S. crop and livestock producers to access international markets will boost farm income in the U.S. while preserving existing access is critical to maintaining farm income. U.S. agricultural exports amounted to $174.5 billion in FY2024, and – historically – every $1 of U.S. agricultural exports results in over $2 in additional domestic economic activity,” the letter states.

For many U.S. agricultural commodities, the percentage exported is significantly higher than the 20% average. U.S. actions, including implementing tariffs, that ultimately increase costs and drive down prices for farmers and ranchers would be especially difficult at a moment when so many are already facing insolvency, the Farm Bureau wrote.

Economists with Ohio State University and the University of Illinois, writing in a farmdoc daily report, similarly warned that levying tariffs on the nation’s top three trading partners could prompt retaliatory efforts that increase prices on a diverse range of products imported into the U.S. while reducing demand for our exports. They reiterated “the importance of agricultural trade to both U.S. consumers and producers” and warned that “the impact of any trade actions that become confrontational with major trade partners could be large.”

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The Farm Bureau letter concluded, “We urge your Administration to make certain that any action taken in the near- or long-term with Canada, Mexico and China does not make it more difficult for American farm families to raise a safe and affordable crop on domestic soil.”

Read the Farm Bureau’s full letter online.