The president of the Minnesota Farmers Union says they are continuing town hall meetings for farmers dealing with higher tariffs put into place by the Trump administration.
Gary Wertish told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News Monday that the tariffs come at a very bad time for farmers.
"The soybean market, for example, took a big hit on last Friday," Wertish says. "You know when it opened and when the president put his tariffs on, I believe Thursday. So we're in a bad price situation already. This is gonna make it worse. It's gonna drive further consolidation on the farm, for your younger, smaller farmer or beginning farmers. There's a lot of them that won't survive this because they don't have the equity."
Wertish says Minnesota's soybean industry is still recovering from the trade war with China that happened during Trump's first term in office.
Wertish says farmers already were dealing with high input costs and low commodity prices, and now they have to somehow work with trade partners.
"We're fortunate, we raise more than we can consume, whether it's crops or livestock," Wertish explains. "So we do have to export, you know, and that's our fear, is we're destroying our relationship as a reliable trading partner around the world. And, and how long does that take to rebuild that?"
Wertish says the tariffs that were alreay in place had put a "serious dent" in the state's soybean exports to China.
Undeterred by a stock market collapse that has continued for days, President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on China on Monday, raising fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could intensify a financially destructive trade war.
Trump's threat, which he delivered on social media, came after China said it would retaliate against U.S. tariffs he announced last week.
“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!”
If Trump implements his plans, U.S. tariffs on imports from China would reach a combined 104%. The new taxes would be on top of the 20% tariffs announced as punishment for fentanyl trafficking and his separate 34% tariffs announced last week. Not only could that increase prices for American consumers, it could give China an incentive to flood other countries with cheaper goods and seek deeper partnerships with other trading partners.
Trump faces mounting pressure in the financial markets and from business leaders to backtrack on his tariff ambitions, yet he has shown no signs of reversing course or finding a message to calm panicked markets. The White House said Monday that Trump would veto a Senate bill that would mandate congressional approval for new tariffs, a bet that the critical mass of Republican lawmakers will loyally back his taxes on imports despite the economic and political chaos being created.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.