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President Donald Trump said the US would impose tariffs on “external” agricultural products starting on April 2, adding another layer of threats to impose trade barriers on imported goods.
“To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!” the president said Monday in a social media post.
The move comes just as US food imports balloon, driving the country’s agriculture trade deficit to a record $49 billion this year, the US Department of Agriculture forecast last week.
The president did not provide more detail on which products would be affected, or if there would be any exceptions. The plan is part of a previously announced effort to enact so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly all US trading partners, according to two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.
Trump also said 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico would start on Tuesday, and signed an order doubling a levy on China to 20% that will take effect shortly after midnight in Washington. The wave of tariff news doused hopes of avoiding an all-out continental trade war.
The president announced the agricultural tariff plan a day before he is scheduled to speak to the nation in a primetime address to a joint session of Congress, his first major speech since Inauguration Day. The proposal may offer a preview of how the president plans to defend his tariff plans to the public amid persistent concern about high prices.
Tariffs on agriculture imports would hit the market for fruit, vegetables and nuts, which have typically accounted for at least half of inbound crop shipments into the country, USDA data showed. Sugar, coffee, cocoa and other tropical products accounted for about 15% of imports.
The US has also been importing used cooking oil from China to make biofuels, something lawmakers have tried to crack down on. Tariffs that could prevent that would be a boon for US-produced soybean oil, with futures traded in Chicago paring earlier losses after Trump’s social media post.
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