U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says the tariffs President-elect Trump previously imposed on China pressured China to agree to buy U.S. ag commodities, but Grassley says the new tariffs Trump has threatened against Mexico, Canada and China could hurt American agriculture.
“I just think we need to get tariffs down,” Grassley said this morning during a conference call with Iowa reporters. “And that doesn’t bad mouth, in no way is that meant to disagree with Trump because I think he’s using tariffs as a negotiating tool.”
Trump says he’ll add onto the tariffs already in place on goods from China unless the country imposes the death penalty on those caught trafficking the drug fentanyl. Trump also says he’ll impose 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada because they aren’t doing enough to stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. Grassley told reporters U.S. agricultural exports are typically the first casualty of a trade war.
“It’s kind of a tricky game when it comes to increasing tariffs,” Grassley said, “because we in Iowa and throughout the agricultural community know that the first thing that’s retaliated against is agriculture.”
Grassley said throughout most of his nearly five decade career in congress, he’s been an advocate for trade agreements that reduce tariffs and resolve trade disputes.
“I believe we ought to be negotiating more trade agreements,” Grassley said, “whether that’s through the (World Trade Organization) or whether that’s through the multi-lateral or whether it’s bilateral.”
And Grassley suggested Trump’s new tariff threats could be linked to a clause in the U-S-Mexico Trade Agreement Trump signed when he was president. “Sometime in ’26, the USMCA says it could be renegotiated,” Grassley said, “and maybe he’s leading up to that.”
Grassley said Trump’s initial tariffs on China led to a “favorable” deal in which China promised to buy $200 billion more of U.S. exports, but China wound up buying far less than that and began relying on other countries for many ag commodities. Grassley said it’s too soon to judge the motivation behind Trump’s latest tariff threats and what the outcomes may be.
“I’m going to be doing everything I can in the congress to have more trade, more fair trade agreements,” Grassley said, “and always constantly telling the president to be cautious about what you’re doing so it doesn’t hurt American agriculture.”
During Trump’s first administration, the USDA sent over $23 billion worth of trade disruption payments to farmers to compensate for China’s reduction in U.S. grain and meat purchases.