The United States’ largest farmer organisation - the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) - has written to US president Donald Trump, warning that his tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could hit American farmers in the pocket by prompting retaliatory action.

On Saturday, the US president announced he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on China.

Announcing the tariffs, a White House statement said: “Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest. President Trump is using the tools at hand and taking decisive action that puts Americans’ safety and our national security first.”

It said Trump was “taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country”.

Alarm

By Monday, the US president had agreed to press pause on the Canada and Mexico tariffs for a period of 30 days, but the tariff threat has alarmed US farmers, who export billions of dollars worth of agricultural products to the three countries.

Writing to Trump, the AFBF’s president Zippy Duvall warned: “Last year, the US exported over $30bn in agricultural products to Mexico, $29bn to Canada and $26bn to China – our top three markets by value combined for half of total agricultural exports.

“Any effort to impose additional tariffs on these nations’ imports runs the risk of significant retaliatory measures against US agricultural exports,” he wrote.

“We ask that you carefully consider the impact on American farmers and ranchers, associated businesses and rural communities when determining potential trade actions. For decades, American agriculture has strongly supported efforts to open the world to our agricultural and other trade products.”

Agricultural exports

The federation also pointed out that over 20% of US farm income is based on agricultural exports and US agricultural exports amounted to $174.5bn in 2024.

“Every $1 of US agricultural exports results in over $2 in additional domestic economic activity,” Duvall said.

Over 20% of US agricultural products are exported and, for many commodities, the percentage is significantly higher.

The letter continued: “We urge your administration to make certain that any action taken in the near- or long-term with Canada, Mexico and China does not make it more difficult for American farm families to raise a safe and affordable crop on domestic soil.”

Duvall pointed out that around 85% of potash fertiliser used by US farmers is sourced from Canada, along with other fertiliser products and energy supplies.

“Increases to the cost of these necessary products, with spring planting soon starting across rural America, would be a difficult and untimely burden on American farmers,” he warned.