The first wave of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff hikes is now in effect as of Saturday. That means almost all imports are subject to an additional 10% tariff. With more tariff increases set to kick in this week, a farm equipment manufacturer is warning of future delays and price hikes.
Greg Petras, president at Kuhn North America, told Agri-Pulse this weekend that a quarter of all stock comes from Europe, and the European Union is due to get hit with a 20% reciprocal tariff starting Wednesday.
“We just have a lot of shipments on hold,” Petras said. He said Kuhn is not increasing or replacing stock as normal until the firm has worked out how much of the tariff it can absorb and how much must be passed to consumers to remain profitable.
Take note: Trump says the tariffs will spur companies to relocate manufacturing operations in the U.S. But Petras says that’s simply not feasible.
“It’s not like we have a lot of extra labor,” Petras said. It would also take many years to relocate supply chains for intricate components. “If that was the practical thing to do, we would already be doing it,” Petras added.
Looking ahead: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will be on Capitol Hill twice this week, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.
For more on that and the rest of what’s going on in our nation’s capital, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Internal report pushes for prioritizing ag in new trade deals
An internal report submitted to the president on U.S. trade policy priorities pushes for prioritizing ag in new trade deals and calls for revamping existing agreements.
On Inauguration Day, the president directed key agencies and departments to submit a report on an “America First” trade policy. The April 1 report included sections examining the U.S. trade deficit, unfair trade practices, and new opportunities for dealmaking, among others.
New trade deals offer “an opportunity for the United States to knock down non-reciprocal barriers to U.S. exports, especially for agricultural products,” a White House summary of the report reads. The summary, however, does not list which countries officials recommended for new deals.
Similarly, the summary says existing trade deals should be modernized to further lower tariffs on U.S. ag products and improve market access – including for U.S. dairy under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
House next stop for budget framework
House GOP leaders are looking to win passage this week of the budget resolution approved by the Senate early Saturday. The resolution is needed to unlock the budget reconciliation process that Republicans will use to enact Trump’s major legislative priorities, including a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts. Some farm bill programs also could ride in the reconciliation bill.
A few hardline conservatives are raising concerns about the resolution because it doesn’t lock Senate Republicans into significant spending cuts.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., expressed confidence that Republicans will pass the reconciliation bill before the August recess. “Most Americans don't track the process. They want to know what the product is at the end. That's coming in the next several months as we work through, in public, what's the product that's actually going to come out of this,” he said.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about agriculture news from coast to coast! Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news. Simply click here.
Kennedy launches MAHA tour
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will meet with nutrition experts, tribal leaders and elected officials this week to discuss various aspects of the Make America Healthy Again agenda.
The meetings will take place in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, Monday through Wednesday. During these events, he will discuss MAHA state laws that aim to restrict SNAP purchases of soda and ban ultraprocessed foods in schools.
The tour follows Kennedy’s first joint event with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Appearing at a Virginia school, Kennedy said the two are working quickly to update the dietary guidelines. He also criticized the scientific report released by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee under the last administration, saying it had too much influence from the food processing industry.
House Dems send letter to USDA on food bank funding
Over 100 Democrats signed a letter pressing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on the agency’s recent move to pause $500 million in funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Last month, some food banks had orders canceled. USDA said it was pausing and reviewing the Commodity Credit Corporation funding for TEFAP, and noted the program is also supported by appropriated funds and Section 32 purchases.
In the letter, lawmakers expressed concern about the impact this could have on Americans facing food insecurity, as well as farmers that contribute to the TEFAP supply chain. They also list a number of questions about the funding and ways to minimize disruptions for producers and food providers.
House Agriculture Committee Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, and Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., were among those who onto the letter.
Groups send letter of support for Vaden confirmation
A coalition of agricultural groups are urging leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee to confirm Deputy Agriculture Secretary-nominee Stephen Vaden, who currently serves as a judge on the United States Court of International Trade.
In a letter, the groups said Vaden’s position as USDA general counsel during the first Trump Administration is reason for a speedy confirmation.
"His deep understanding of the agricultural economy, regulatory landscape, and global trade dynamics will be instrumental as the department works to address challenges such as stabilizing the farm economy, strengthening supply chains, and implementing a new farm bill,” the groups said.
Corps of Engineers, Reclamation pause Snake River dam evaluation
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation have put on hold reviews meant to evaluate the environmental impact of a series of dams along the Snake River. The hold follows the Council of Environmental Quality’s decision to scrap its guidelines for how agencies should implement the National Environmental Policy Act.
Take note: The reviews were among a slate of actions the administration was taking under a memorandum of understanding meant to pause, and potentially end, decades of litigation over the river’s declining salmon populations.
Final word
“Listen, the people that are leading this are serious, intentional, patriotic, the smartest people I have ever worked with. I did not come up with the formulas. I'm the ag secretary. I studied agriculture at Texas A&M. I was in a lot of conversations to make sure our farmers and our ranchers were part of that.” –Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, defending the president’s reciprocal tariffs. She was challenged about why a duty rate was set for some uninhabited islands.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
