At one minute past midnight this morning, President Trump imposed a 25-percent tariff on all goods being brought into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, Iowa’s two largest trading partners.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicts it will likely mean Iowa consumers will soon start having to pay more for a wide range of products.
“We can expect Canada and Mexico to take actions contrary to our tariffs by putting tariffs on products going into their country,” Grassley says. “It’s pretty difficult, in the first 24 hours, to know what the impact is.”
Iowa businesses ship more products to Canada than anywhere else. Iowa exported five-and-a half billion dollars worth of goods to Canada in 2023, which equated to 30-percent of the state’s total exports, while Mexico is Iowa’s second-largest trading partner.
Grassley says he’s already hearing from Iowa hog farmers about the tariffs.
“We’re hearing from pork producers that import baby pigs that are farrowed in Canada,” Grassley says. “There’s just a regular supply of them coming in, probably almost daily, and that could have an impact on the profitability of pork production in Iowa.”
Iowa sends all types of products to our neighbors to the north and south, including: pork, beef, corn, dried distillers grains, soybeans, soybean meal, and ethanol. Grassley says it’s possible these tariffs won’t be in place very long.
“The president won the election based upon the fact that he’s going to impose tariffs,” Grassley says. “Maybe it’ll work to get tariffs down, because that’s what his goal is, to put tariffs on and get people to the negotiating table. And if he negotiates tariffs down around the globe, that’s a benefit for everybody.”
Grassley couldn’t predict whether Trump’s trade strategy will work or not.
“And if he’s successful, I’ll say, amen,” Grassley says, “and if he’s not successful, I’ll say, I told you so.”
In an interview with Radio Iowa in January, Grassley called himself a “free trader” and said Trump’s tactics are “questionable” but he was willing to pause and see if they’re effective.