Trade and Tariffs on AFBF Radar

Trade and tariffs remain a top concern across the agriculture industry. Dave Samuelson, senior director of government affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation, shares AFBF's perspective on recent and upcoming trade policies and their impact on agriculture.

“So we get a lot of fertilizer from Canada. We get a lot of energy. But the issue primarily is potash. About over 85% all the potash used by US farmers originates in Canada. And so if that's included in one of the goods, it has to pay a 25% tariff. Well, that's higher prices. And I know us, farmers don't really like their input costs going up at all. Imagine a year or two ago the impact that, you know, higher fertilizer prices and the concerns that aroused, and the work we did on that. So that's an issue that's been brought up the administration. I know they've heard it. They know about it, and we'll see as we go forward.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation does not anticipate exceptions to current trade policies in the near future, making tariffs a major concern. Samuelson states that AFBF is closely monitoring the situation to assess the potential impact of these tariffs and what they mean to farmers and ranchers.