Brooke Rollins to Iowa farmers: USDA weighing aid as Trump tariffs loom

WAUKEE — As President Donald Trump plans to impose sweeping global tariffs this week, administration officials continue to discuss providing financial aid to U.S. farmers and ranchers likely to be again caught in the middle of an escalating trade war.

In her first visit to Iowa, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday said the administration may provide emergency aid to farmers — as it did during Trump’s first term — to offset losses from retaliatory tariffs on agriculture exports imposed by America’s trading partners.

Rollins said the USDA was awaiting Trump's final decision on tariffs to assess the potential impact on farmers, and expressed hope that tariff renegotiations would be positive and eliminate the need for support payments.

“I've been on the phone, non-stop managing a lot of that, or working to ensure that our farmers and our ranchers are represented in those negotiations,” Rollins said in a response to a question from a reporter during a tour of a hog and diversified row crop farm in Waukee. “What I'll say is this, it is all to be determined."

Trump said Sunday he plans to unveil reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trade partners to match the duties that other countries charge on U.S. products on Wednesday, which he dubbed “Liberation Day.” He says the tax on imports from other countries will free the United States from a reliance on foreign goods.

The White House already has imposed tariffs on aluminum, steel and foreign-made vehicles, along with increased tariffs on all goods from China.

China has hit back with retaliatory tariffs covering a range of U.S. goods. Canada has rolled out a series of counter measures amounting to billions of dollars on U.S. goods. Mexico, meanwhile, has yet to formally impose new tariffs — signaling it may still hope to de-escalate the trade war, although the country previously promised retaliation to Trump’s actions, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. agricultural exports fell by more than $27 billion during Trump’s first term amid a trade war with China, prompting the USDA to send $23 billion to farmers to help offset losses. Iowa and U.S. soybean farmers were among the largest casualties of the 2018 trade war. Of the $27 billion loss, soybeans represented 71 percent of the drop.

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While U.S. soybean exports to China rebounded with a 2020 agreement between the two countries, the United States has yet to fully recover its loss in market share of soybean exports to China, the world’s No. 1 buyer of the commodity, according to the American Soybean Association.

The tariffs come as Iowa farmers are already struggling with the combined effects of falling commodity prices and higher production costs and interest rates.

The USDA announced earlier this month it was issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to farmers authorized by Congress in December to mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices.

Rollins said Trump sees tariffs as a way of protecting the U.S. economy from unfair global competition and a bargaining chip to secure better terms from the United States.

“He was elected with the idea of tariffs being one of the top tools in his tool kit to realign the American economy, to put Americans first,” Rollins told reporters. “But I also know that the president was very proud the last time that then-USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue … through the USDA was able to ensure that many of our farmers were made whole through those negotiations. We plan to do the same thing the next time.”

Rollins, though, said there remains “a lot of moving parts on that.”

“We don't have quite the funds we had back then, because under the last administration a lot of those were spent,” she said. “But we're working on that right now, and as soon as we fully understand the consequences — positive and otherwise — of these renegotiations, we'll have more announcements on that moving forward.”

Rollins said Trump has believed for decades that American goods “get a raw deal on the world stage” and said he intends to change that.

For nearly 60 years, U.S. agricultural trade maintained a surplus, but in fiscal year 2019, the balance shifted to a deficit, where it has stayed three out of the last five fiscal years, according to the USDA. The agency forecasts a record agricultural trade deficit of $49 billion in fiscal year 2025.

U.S. consumers are driving up demand for imported goods, including fruits, vegetables, and processed foods. Declining global prices for some key agricultural commodities and growing competition from other countries, particularly in Brazil, is putting pressure on U.S. farmers and impacting U.S. export values.

Others argue current U.S. trade policies have not adequately addressed the needs of the U.S. agricultural sector.

“For the past four years, our country has sat on the sidelines in trade negotiations, putting our producers at a disadvantage while other countries gain preferential access or reneged on past commitments, and both were certainly true,” Rollins said during a keynote speech Monday evening at the annual Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner in Ankeny.

“Clearly, this current balance is not working for the American family farm,” she continued. “President Trump is fighting, as we speak, for better trade deals. And I know you all don't want a hand out. You want a hand up. You want more access to our markets across the world, and where we already have that access, we need to make sure that you are treated fairly.”

She emphasized Trump's commitment to farmers and ranchers, criticized past spending on nonessential USDA grants — citing one she said was focused on food justice for transgender farmers in San Francisco — and assured that essential programs protecting livestock and addressing issues like avian flu will be preserved and expanded.

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Rollins emphasizes the importance of realigning government funding to focus on critical agricultural needs, and outlined her plans to aggressively open new markets, including trips to India, Japan, Peru, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

She signaled support for Iowa's waiver for a modified summer EBT program, and said to “stay tuned” for a decision. Last year, the Biden administration denied Iowa’s proposed plan to provide boxes of food to low-income households with children this summer rather than participate in the federal direct-benefits food program. The state said it would reapply under the Trump administration.

The USDA also announced $537 million in funding to support the expansion of ethanol and biodiesel infrastructure.

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw, in a statement, praised the announcement.

“Today’s announcement means farmers will benefit from higher demand and consumers will benefit from lower-cost options at the pump,” Shaw said. “ … Moving forward, we urge Sec. Rollins to work with her counterparts at EPA to implement President Trump’s previous directive to allow all current equipment to store and dispense E15 blends. By streamlining regulations, this will greatly speed up the adoption of E15 across the country while saving hundreds of millions of dollars in unneeded expenditures.”

Established during Trump’s first term, the federal program helps expand the production of ethanol and biodiesel through cost-share grants to retailers by helping fueling stations install pumps, storage containers and other infrastructure needed to increase the sale and use of biofuels.

“Trump has promised to unleash American energy and biofuels are a crucial piece of the puzzle for lowering gas prices,” Rollins said in her keynote address. “Last year, Iowa accounted for over 27 percent of the nation's total ethanol production capacity. … As we implement the policies needed to regain American energy dominance, we will continue to look to your beautiful state as an example of that incredible success and hopefully much more success to come.”

Rollins began the day Monday visiting an ethanol plant in Atlantic before touring the hog facility near Waukee, followed by a tour of a hybrid seed company in Newton and the Iowa Ag Leaders banquet.

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Rollins, speaking to Iowa agriculture leaders during the banquet, also emphasized the need for a new farm bill to certainty farmers need to plan for the future.

“You deserve that, and we'll do everything we can to ensure and to help support Congress as they deliver on that promise,” she said.

The USDA secretary was accompanied on her tours by Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, all Republicans.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.