Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman commented today on President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.
“Agriculture relies on robust trade agreements. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) thanks the Trump Administration for promoting America’s agricultural goods by prioritizing new and existing trade agreements. At the same time though, we do have concerns on the impact increased tariffs would have on farms who are struggling to stay afloat given recent natural disasters and high input costs among other factors.
Over 20% of U.S. agricultural goods are exported, so retaliatory tariffs do pose a threat to farmer’s profits. While we understand and appreciate the goal of these tariffs bolstering American-grown products, these tariffs will inevitably further drive-up input costs, which will make agricultural products more expensive globally. Unfortunately, farmers are going to experience short-term competitive disadvantages, but these tariffs may also cause long-term impacts regarding market share losses.
Recognizing the recent stagnation in trade agreement enforcement and expansion, PFB appreciates President Trump’s ambitious attitude to take action regarding our trade agreements with other countries, but we urge the administration to pursue alternative strategies, rather than tariffs, to protect farmers from retaliation.”