A number of congressional Republicans are publicly voicing concern over the potential for a prolonged trade war and its effect on American farmers as President Donald Trump prepares to announce a new wave of tariffs.
Trump is expected to impose duties as early as Wednesday on imports from all countries in a move that could hit the agriculture community particularly hard. Several GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking last-minute carveouts to blunt the impact of those tariffs.
House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., told NBC News that he has asked the White House to exempt certain goods that are important to the U.S. agricultural industry, such as fertilizer and peat moss.
“I’ve kind of pointed out the things that I’m hoping" will be excluded, he said. “I talk with anybody who will listen to me. ... They’ve been really good about input.”
Thompson also said he hopes Congress won’t need to bail out farmers with an emergency aid package, as it did during the first Trump administration. But, he said, “we’ll be prepared to do that” again if needed.
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Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said exemptions for specific goods are likely to be needed.
“The only thing I can tell you right now is on potash,” Grassley said when he was asked about Trump’s tariffs. Citing the U.S. reliance on Canada for much of its potash, Grassley said “we’ll have to ask for” an exemption.
House Appropriations Committee chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., indicated a divide between the farming and non-farming communities.
He said farmers in his state "export a lot," so they have concerns around retaliatory tariffs. Those outside the agricultural community, however, are "mostly in favor" of the tariffs, which he said has prompted him to take a "wait and see" approach.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., appeared hesitant about the effects from tariffs, saying there could be some negative outcomes. But he said he would remain open-minded.
“I’ve heard economists talk about the apocalypse, and I’ve heard economists say it won’t have an impact,” Kennedy said, adding that he understands Trump’s stance.
“His position is: Why not leverage our wealth and say you want to sell in America? Come build your business in America. I get that. And in the long run, that’ll probably work. The problem is that in the long run, we’re all dead. So the short run matters. And in terms of the short run, what’s going to happen? No one knows,” Kennedy said.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said Georgia farmers are worried about the impacts of a prolonged trade war.
“If you talk to farmers all across Georgia, they’re deeply worried,” he said. “This will not help. It’s a tough business to begin with. The margins of profitability are low. There’s so much you can’t control, like the weather, and this just adds to their stress.”
Trump said Sunday that the reciprocal tariffs he is scheduled to announce this week will include all countries and won’t be limited to a smaller group of roughly 10 to 15 countries that have the largest trade disparities with the United States.
On Tuesday, a group of Democrats led by Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, will seek to force a vote on a measure that would terminate the emergency declaration Trump is using to impose tariffs on Canada.
“I look forward to this legislation coming to the floor for a vote so every Senator can publicly answer this question: are you willing to put your constituents and our economy above Trump’s worst impulses?” Kaine said in a statement.
